Rick Springfield says mortar killed a man in Vietnam

Rick Springfield, the Australian singer-songwriter best known for his 1981 hit Jessies Girl, has said he killed a man with a mortar bomb while performing for American troops in South Vietnam in 1968. The 77-year-old musician made the claim during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, describing an episode that he says has haunted him for nearly six decades. According to Springfield, his band traveled to Vietnam in 1968 to entertain American soldiers, staying for about four months. He said the group, which included women because soldiers wanted performers who reminded them of home, took the gig largely for money. It was insane, he recalled, adding that the band did not actually make much and spent what they earned at the post exchange. The situation turned dangerous one night when Springfield and his bandmates, staying overnight with soldiers they had befriended, came under attack. He said he was in the radio shack in the perimeter bunkers when radio messages indicated movement nearby and confirmed there were no friendlies in the area.