Since debuting in 1972, Rick Springfield has sold over 25 million albums worldwide and earned 17 US Top 40 hits.
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Before the glitz and glamour of fame, the Australia-born singer landed in the crosshairs of the Vietnam War.
Not only that, but the "Jessie's Girl" singer took a man's life while overseas.
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, the Grammy winner detailed traveling to Vietnam in 1968 to entertain US troops. While there, he made a fatal decision that still haunts him today.
According to Springfield, US soldiers "wanted to see, you know, girls that reminded them of home."
"So as long as we had a couple of girls in the band, they would hire you, and you could tour Vietnam during the war zone," he said. "It was pretty insane. We were there for about four months."
Beyond making a quick buck, Springfield and his band had modest expectations for his trip overseas.
"It was insane. I thought, 'Oh, great. We'll make money, you know.' And, of course, we didn't make any money. We spent it all at the PX, and we weren't making much money anyway."
Rick Springfield Confesses to Killing a Man on Tour
The situation escalated when the base where Springfield was staying came under attack. He took cover in a radio shack with soldiers and defended the base alongside them.
"We got attacked. I'm throwing mortars down the freaking tube of the radio shack," Springfield said. He described the moment as "freaky" and compared it to something you'd see in a screenplay.
It wasn't until the following day that Springfield learned the weight of his actions.
"The hardest thing for me was that I had thrown a mortar down, and it had hit somebody. They came in the next day and said, 'Hey, you got one. You got one.'"
The "Don't Talk to Strangers" singer said the incident took a mental toll on him.
"And that still has a hard place to land in me, you know? That's really kind of the one thing I brought back with me that I couldn't really find a place for that to land."
