Bob Parsons - I’m finally home

It’s been 50 years since the War, and with the help

of PTSD therapy I’m finally home

Bob Parsons is best known for founding GoDaddy.com and changing the game for the golf industry with his golf club manufacturing company, PXG, but in his heart, he is most proud of being a U.S Marine.

Parsons was awarded four medals, including the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Combat Action Ribbon for his service during the Vietnam War.

Homeland Magazine sat down with Bob Parsons, who is dedicated to helping lead the charge when it comes to advocating for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy treatment for his fellow veterans suffering from PTSD.

Homeland: Tell us about what made you join the Marines?

Parsons: I was a terrible student. I failed the 5th grade, and at the end of every school year thereafter, whether or not I passed was a photo finish. I was a senior in high school in March 1968 when two buddies told me they were going to go talk to the Marine Corps recruiter. I went along with them to hear what the Marines had to say, and they (the Marines) had me at hello. The three of us enlisted on the spot. Because I was only 17 at the time, my mom had to sign off on my paperwork. We all went to boot camp that August, and six months later we were carrying rifles in Vietnam.

Homeland: Tell me about your time in Vietnam.

Parsons: I served as a rifleman with Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines in Quang Nam province on Hill 190. On one side of Hill 190 there were rice paddies as far as you could see. On the other side were mountains and jungle. When I met the Marines in my squad for the first time, I learned that they had been ambushed a few days earlier and suffered five casualties, four of which were KIA. Those Marines who were killed or wounded were the senior guys. The new squad leader and senior man was a Marine named Barry George, who had been in country at that time just six weeks. Upon learning this, and spending about an hour of thinking and soul searching, I accepted the fact that I was probably going to die there. I made myself two promises right then and there: 1) I’d do my job as a Marine to the best of my ability for the rest of the guys there and for my folks back home; and 2) I would do whatever it took to be alive for Mail Call in the morning. Taking things one day at a time, and focusing no further into the future than the next day’s mail call, was how I got through it.

The rifle squads of Delta Company ran ambushes every night. Our job was to keep the North Vietnamese Army from terrorizing the small rice farming villages and taking their rice to feed their troops. I did every job I was asked to do. I walked “tail end Charlie” – the last Marine in line. Walking tail end was probably the safest position to be in the squad, but it was also pretty creepy – always looking over your shoulder for an enemy soldier sneaking up in back of you. I also carried the radio. Back then there were no cell phones. The radio was big and bulky, had an 8-foot antenna, and since it was our only form of communication, carrying the radio was like wearing a sign that said, “Please shoot me first.” Eventually I volunteered for the point team, and while walking second through a village in the pitch dark night, the point man somehow stepped over and missed the tripwire. I had no such luck and hit it. The shrapnel from the resulting explosion wounded both my legs and my left elbow. I was medevac’d to Yokusko Naval Hospital

in Japan to recover. After recovering, I received orders to return back to my unit. On the way back, through an unbelievable fluke, I was instead assigned to Marine Corps Intelligence on Okinawa, where, among other jobs, I was a courier of classified documents traveling between there and Vietnam.

Homeland: What was your return home like?

Parsons: Those of us who served in the Vietnam War to this day remain the only troops who fought for our country and were never welcomed home. Many of us were instead met by angry anti-war protestors. The Marine Corps even suggested we not wear our uniforms home so as not to attract the attention of the anti-war crowd. I wore my uniform home and so did all the other Marines around me. The reception we received was disappointing for sure. We really thought we did something special serving in that God-awful war. I still think about it every day. If I smell something like fresh asphalt, tar, or diesel fuel, it brings me right back there.

Homeland: I understand you were diagnosed with PTSD?

Parsons: In those days, no one was talking about PTSD. People would say, “He’s a different man” or “He’s not the same.” Looking back, I most certainly had PTSD after returning to the states. I had a temper. I didn’t want to be around people. I couldn’t watch fireworks. Occasionally I’d go off by myself and just be in tears. PTSD most certainly caused my first two marriages to end in divorce. It is one of the trickiest diseases because it affects the front of your brain and how that area controls the “fight or flight” response. People with PTSD are always close to being in full flight or fight, but because our brains work to normalize their flaws, we don’t know that that’s the case until we are triggered.

Homeland: How did you discover Psychedelics & PTSD Treatments?

Parsons: When I read Michael Pollan’s book, “How to Change Your Mind,” I had a breakthrough. I learned all about the history of psychedelics and what they were capable of treating. I immediately told my wife, Renee, about the book, and she linked me with two people who treat veterans with psychedelics. I had never used psychedelics and wouldn’t have considered doing so before reading the book. I did a four-day guided treatment and after, I was a different guy. There is a reset power that psychedelics have. People who knew me would say, “My God, he’s different. What happened to him?” It’s important to note that just taking Psychedelics without therapy from trained professionals won’t accomplish much. The way the healing is done is that the therapy does the healing and the psychedelics make it possible.

Homeland: What happened then?

The difference psychedelic therapy made for me that week was epic. I started thinking about how I could help make these therapies accessible for other veterans and civilians suffering. I learned about Rick Doblin’s organization, MAPS, through Tim Ferriss (Author of The 4-Hour Work Week). The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is pioneering this treatment, and it stands a good chance of being FDA-approved for therapeutic use, maybe in 2023. MAPS needed funds to complete the final research required to seek approval, so my wife and I wrote them a check. The results have been incredible. After three therapy sessions with MDMA, 67% of veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD were cured. I’m also supporting several other ongoing trials in the U.S, including The Mount Sinai Center for Psychedelic Healing in New York. They are doing the first clinical trial with the VA. We also provide annual support to The Semper Fi & America’s Fund through The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation.

Homeland: If you were to talk to someone having difficulty with their PTSD, what would your advice be?

Parsons: I would tell them to call the PTSD hotline staffed by The Semper Fi and America’s Fund to begin their journey to recovery and also share my experience. That phone number is 760-725-3680. Do I consider myself completely cured of PTSD? No. Do I think I’m much better than I was? Yes, absolutely. Like all veterans, I still have memories no one should ever have. And I can’t stress this enough: if a person takes psychedelics from the shelf, it’s not going to make a difference. The therapy does the healing; the psychedelics make it possible.

Homeland: What would you say to readers in the same situation?

Parsons: There’s help. There are treatments that can mitigate PTSD and make life better. The difference treatment can make is profound. It’s been 50 years since the war, and with the help of psychedelic therapy, I finally came home. It’s time for you to come home, too.

For more information visit: MAPS: www.maps.org Semper Fi: www.semperfifund.org The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation: www.brpf.org