Shant Kenderian

Shant Kenderian
Born 1963
Iraq
Occupation Engineer
Nationality United States
Genre war nonfiction
Notable works 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.

Wars in Iraq

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]

Book

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.

Current Life

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.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kenderian, Shant (2007). 1001 Nights in Iraq: The Shocking Story of an American Forced to Fight for Saddam Against the Country He Loves. Atria. ISBN 978-1-4165-4019-9.
  2. ↑ 1991 a Year to Remember, Daily Herald (Chicago), Dec 26, 1991
  3. ↑ "Reunion Sweet for U.S. Soldier, Iraqi POW", The Daily Herald (Chicago), July 4, 1991
  4. ↑ Sunday Book Review, New York Times, September 16, 2007
  5. ↑ Book Review, by Brian Palmer, Entertainment Weekly, June 15, 2007
  6. ↑ Iraqi POW Comes Home to America Reunion, Kathleen Hendrix; Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1991
  7. ↑ Episode 308, This American Life
  8. ↑ Awards and Honors, Materials Evaluation, September 2006