Jimi Hendrix is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarists ever to step on stage.
The man who headlined 1969’s Woodstock Festival in New York was responsible for defining American rock as we know it. But when he was a young, dumb kid, he had the choice of going to war or going to jail.
He chose the Army.
Related: Before ‘Ring of Fire,’ Johnny Cash served in the Air Force
Hendrix completed basic training at Fort Ord, California. He then became a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He served for 13 months before being discharged, leaving many to speculate how and why he didn’t fulfill his original three-year contract.
Well, we think this rock legend (who is also a constant talking point in 101st Airborne trivia) doesn’t deserve to have his name dragged through the mud. Let’s dive a little deeper.
Why Was Hendrix Discharged from the Military?
One of the rumors that has persisted is that Hendrix was discharged, because he displayed homosexual tendencies.
Some say he put on an act in order to avoid going to Vietnam. This can be easily disproved by the fact that he was already out of the Army by the time President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961.
Hendrix had no real reason to believe that American troops would be sent to Vietnam to stop the fall of Communist dominoes. Hendrix was also highly vocal about his hatred for communists, so he likely wasn’t dodging a fight on philosophical grounds.
Others say it wasn’t an act, that Hendrix was attracted to men. Contrary to this school of thought, his experiences with his “foxy ladies” were highly publicized.
Preferences aside, there’s just no evidence to support this contention, even if it appears in his highly criticized biography.
The simple fact is that his discharge documents say otherwise.
Was Hendrix a Poor Soldier?
![Jimi Hendrix - The Star Spangled Banner [ National Anthem ] ( Live at Woodstock 1969 ) thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sjzZh6-h9fM/hqdefault.jpg)
Jimi Hendrix – The Star Spangled Banner [ National Anthem ] ( Live at Woodstock 1969 )
Another rumor about Hendrix is that he was dishonorably discharged because he got caught masturbating and was, generally, a sh*tty soldier. If you look through his documents, it’s easy to see that he was no Captain America. He barely passed PT standards, was a subpar marksman, and he got in trouble three times for missing bed checks on three different weekends.
To be honest, that sounds a lot like an average 19-year-old private—a lazy, apathetic troop who skims by doing the absolutely bare minimum.
Hendrix was just your average Joe who’d rather be playing guitar than working.
There are nuggets of truth here. His NCOs tried to kick him out, and they submitted a request for discharge after he was caught masturbating in the latrine. Make no mistake, the hammer was swiftly coming down on Pvt. Hendrix.
He stood a good chance of receiving a bad conduct discharge. Instead, the military discharged him on the grounds of “unsuitability—under honorable conditions” on July 2, 1962.
After his 26th airborne jump, Hendrix sustained an ankle injury. His chain of command then had the perfect opportunity to get rid of him, and he wasn’t fighting it. Although his superiors submitted a request for discharge on the grounds of bad behavior, it was never fulfilled.
A Transformative Performer
Hendrix didn’t leave the military with the highest esteem for his chain of command, but he never bad-mouthed the Army as a whole. He regularly played in front of an American flag and performed the national anthem at many of his concerts.
Hendrix left behind nearly 50 live recordings outside of his iconic Woodstock ’69 rendition. He was 27 when he died on September 18, 1970, in London after overdosing on sleeping pills and alcohol.
Musician Neil Young inducted Hendrix posthumously into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame in 1992 as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
