Autopsy of War: A Personal History

John Parrish is a department head at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, but his successful medical career masks decades of struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from his service as a marine battlefield doctor in Vietnam. In this memoir, he chronicles his four-decade battle with the psychological aftermath of war. Parrish examines his Southern Baptist upbringing and his father's influence as a fire and brimstone preacher turned Navy chaplain, exploring how the "God and Country" ethos shaped young men's decisions to enter military service. He describes witnessing extreme carnage and cruelty in Vietnam, experiences that fundamentally altered his worldview. Upon returning home, he withdrew from his family, at times living homeless, visiting veteran shelters, and enduring flashbacks and suicidal thoughts. He writes candidly about infidelity and struggles with sex addiction. The narrative follows his gradual recovery and his professional work in medicine and technology, including a joint program with the Boston Red Sox and Massachusetts General Hospital supporting returning veterans. Parrish also recounts his long search to identify a soldier he could not save in Vietnam, whose memory has haunted him throughout his life. This memoir presents both a personal account and a broader examination of war and recovery.