Cal Humanities

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more when it is in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

War Comes Home: Shad Meshad

Shad Meshad is a Vietnam War veteran and therapist.

Shad Meshad is a Vietnam War veteran, therapist, and Founder and President of the National Veterans Foundation. For 30 years he has served as an on-call crisis counselor for veterans, responding personally to hundreds of suicide and homicide calls annually. As a veterans advocate, Shad helped redefine what had been called “post-Vietnam Syndrome” into what we now know as PTSD.

“The Vietnam experience changed my life. I knew that if I survived Vietnam, when I got back I owed it to not just the 2nd Lieutenants but to every combatant to bring these men and women back. It’s the greatest thing in my life to be able to do that… I have to give back.”