Rhonda L. Cornum was born in October 1954 in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in New York. She came from a military background, as her grandfather served in the Marines during World War II. Cornum earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and genetics and then a doctorate in biochemistry from Cornell University in 1971. She also received a medical degree from the Uniformed Services University in 1986, which is where she met her future husband, Kory, an Air Force Veteran.
Cornum served as the first female flight surgeon with the 229th Attack Helicopter Regiment in the Persian Gulf. Flying on a search and rescue mission, her Black Hawk was shot down, leaving her with many injuries, including two broken arms, a broken finger and a gunshot wound.
After the crash, Cornum was held as a prisoner of war for seven days, and was sexually assaulted by one of her Iraqi captors. She later reflected on the assault, emphasizing the importance of resilience and perspective in the face of adversity. One thing that helped her get through it was thinking of the song, “Proud to be an American.”
After being released, Cornum returned to the U.S. and served as the staff urologist at Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia. She would soon take on new leadership challenges: She would go on to command the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and later become the command surgeon at FORSCOM. By the time she retired in 2012, Cornum had risen to the rank of brigadier general and served as the director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness in Army Staff.
Cornum has received numerous awards, including an Army Distinguished Service Medal, a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart, and she stands as one of only seven women in history to receive a Distinguished Flying Cross.
We honor her service.
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Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Veterans History Project
This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Visit the Library of Congress website to learn more.
A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.
Prompt Engineer: Tarruck Wheeler
Editor: Tayler Rairigh
Researcher: Jacoryn Whatley
Graphic Designer: Alyssa Favorito
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This was a timely article for me. I have much respect for this soldier because my Medevac crew flew the search and rescue mission to find and later recover KIA’s. The amount of absolute horrific carnage of aircraft and human haunts me daily. We hoped for the best when three where MIA.
An impressive record of service and personal accomplishments!
i salute you!