| Shant Kenderian | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 Iraq |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Nationality | United States |
| Genres | war nonfiction |
| Notable work(s) | 1001 Nights in Iraq |
Shant Kenderian is notable as an Iraqi-born United States citizen who became an American prisoner-of-war after being forced to fight against the United States in the Persian Gulf War.
He wrote a book [1] about his adventures, and is currently an engineer in Pasadena.
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Shant Kenderian was an Iraqi-born United States permanent resident of Armenian Christian background attending Wheeling High School in Chicago.[2][3] He visited his father in Iraq in 1980, and 7 days later the Iran–Iraq War started, blocking him from leaving the country. After graduating college in 1985, he was forced into the Iraqi Navy and fought in the Iran–Iraq War.[4]
Before he could get his green card processed to leave Iraq, the Persian Gulf War started and he was forced to fight against the Americans.[5] Captured by the Americans, he was a prisoner of war until he could convince the Americans of his story. At first the Americans didn't believe his story and thought him a Saddamite spy.[1] While being held in POW camp, he became romantically involved with "Monica", one of the guards.[1] Eventually he was allowed to return to the United States where he reunited with his mother in Glendale.[6]
After returning to the United States, Shant Kenderian wrote about his adventures in Iraq. After he did a reading of his book on the radio show This American Life,[7] his book was picked up by a publisher.
Shant Kenderian became an American citizen in 2000 and he received a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2002.[1] He contributed to the Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation Team and received the American Society for Nondestructive Testing Research Award for Innovation in 2005.[8] He currently works for The Aerospace Corporation where he researches nondestructive testing.