Shant Kenderian is notable as an Iraqi-born United States citizen who became an American

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

after being forced to fight against the United States in the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. He wrote a book about his adventures, and is currently an engineer in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

Biography

Shant Kenderian was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

to a family of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Christian heritage. As a boy, he was raised in a tight Armenian community, and attended a private Armenian school. In 1978, when he was 14, his parents divorced, and Kenderian immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his mother and brother, where they joined his uncles in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In Chicago, he attended Wheeling High School."1991 a Year to Remember," ''Daily Herald'' (Chicago), Dec 26, 1991"Reunion Sweet for U.S. Soldier, Iraqi POW", ''The Daily Herald'' (Chicago), July 4, 1991 In September 1980, just before his 17th birthday, he returned to visit his father in Baghdad. One week later, the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

broke out. Kendarian was forced to stay after all Iraqi males of military age were prohibited from leaving the country. To put off conscription, Kendarian enrolled in the

University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in Baghdad, where he studied engineering. After earning a

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in engineering in 1985, he was conscripted into the

Iraqi Navy The Iraqi Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Armed forces of Iraq. Formed in 1937, initially as the ''Iraqi Coastal Defense Force,'' its primary responsibilities was the protection of Iraq's coastline and off ...

and worked in the engineering department at naval headquarters in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

. He was discharged from the Iraqi Navy in 1989, one year after the war's end.Sunday Book Review
''New York Times'', September 16, 2007 In 1990, Iraq's borders were reopened, and he applied to reinstate his Green Card, but processing was slow, as the embassy was crowded with people seeking Green Cards. As his Green Card was being processed, the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

started and the borders were again closed. He was again conscripted into the Iraqi Navy and served on a boat ferrying supplies and passengers. His boat was severely damaged by an Iraqi mine, and a rescue boat that came for them was damaged by a US airstrike. Afterwards, Kenderian and the other surviving crew members jumped overboard, and were picked up by an American frigate, becoming prisoners of war.Book Review
by Brian Palmer, ''Entertainment Weekly'', June 15, 2007 Kenderian was treated as a prisoner of war until he could convince the Americans of his story. At first the Americans didn't believe him and thought him a Saddamite spy. While being held in POW camp, he became romantically involved with "Monica", one of the guards. Eventually he was allowed to return to the United States where he reunited with his mother in Glendale."Iraqi POW Comes Home to America Reunion," Kathleen Hendrix; ''Los Angeles Times'', May 8, 1991 Upon his return to the United States, Kenderian passed an

Engineer in Training Engineer in training, or EIT, is a professional designation from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) used in the United States to designate a person certified by the state as having completed two requirements: * ...

exam, earned a Master's degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, and worked a series of jobs in engineering. He married his wife, Ani Manjikian, in 1997, and was naturalized as an American citizen in 2000. He received a Ph.D. in

Materials Science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

and Engineering from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 2002. He contributed to the Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation Team and received the American Society for Nondestructive Testing Research Award for Innovation in 2005.Awards and Honors
, Materials Evaluation, September 2006 He currently works for

The Aerospace Corporation The Aerospace Corporation is an American nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). The corporation provides technical guidance and advice on all aspects of space missions to military, civil ...

where he researches

nondestructive testing Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), n ...

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 ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'',Episode 308
, This American Life his book was picked up by a publisher.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenderian, Shant 1963 births Living people American people of Armenian descent Iraqi people of Armenian descent Iraqi emigrants to the United States