American surfer, grandfather ditches board to join fight against ISIS

ISTANBUL -- A 49-year-old American surf instructor and grandfather ditched his board and moved to Syria to fight ISIS after recently watching a news report, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the Daily Mail, Dean Parker, who has no previous military experience "heard God's call" to fight alongside Kurds after watching a TV report about the Yazidi people.

Parker, a West Palm Beach Florida Native who worked as a surf instructor in Costa Rica, ditched his board, bought a plane ticket and flew to Syria to fight for the Lions of Rojava earlier this year.

Parker only told his family of the decision after being in Syria for 5 days, saying he wanted to wait until he knew for sure he made the right decision to join the battle.

"The only way to try to explain this, is that I heard God's call," Parker told the Daily Mail. "I’m not much for words except I love you all my friends, I’m in very good hands."

He told the Daily Mail that he plans to stay with the Kurds until the war against ISIS is over, saying he will return to surfing when he's done.

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