She Went to War: The Rhonda Cornum Story

by Rhonda Cornum, Peter Copeland

Recounts Major Rhonda Cornum's service during the Persian Gulf War and her capture by the Iraqis

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Biography, Medicine, Military History, Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woman. Wife. Mother. Doctor. Army Officer. Pilot. POW. Astronaut candidate. Breast cancer survivor.

What does this woman not do?! An incredible, gripping read about a seemingly ordinary human simply leaning into her God-given talents, seeking challenges to grow them, and facing every experience with grace & grit.

I discovered Dr. Cornum's story in a previous read and immediately added her memoir to my list to learn more. While the book is centered around her experience in the Gulf War as a military physician and POW survivor, it also includes vignettes about the rest of her life story.

I related to Dr. Cornum’s selfless ambition, was inspired by her mentality, and learned much about some aspects of being a female physician in the military.

Her story reveals lessons on: morale & readiness, relationships, war & global politics, gender differences (& indifferences), truly selfless behavior, unlikely life paths, integrity & honor, medicine, and facing disappointment.

In turning the last page of this book, I was reminded, as General Schwarzkopf said, that “there are great heroes out there, and we ought to be very, very proud of them."



A few quotes:

- “It’s not necessarily what you accomplish in life that is most important, but also what you attempt to accomplish."

- “I regarded every minute I was alive as a gift."

- “…be a participant in history and world events.”

- “I wanted to be a leader, and being a leader meant setting an example."

[Barbara Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very different from what I usually read since my preferred genre consists of mysteries and thrillers with an occasional novel thrown in to the mix.
My older sister was in the Air Force for 29 years and had this book in her collection. This book made me appreciate more the sacrifices that all of our troops make to keep America safe. The author, Rhonda Cornum, is a surgeon (soldier and pilot) in the U.S. Army and ends up being captured and taken as a POW while serving in Iraq. I enjoyed reading about the female perspective of the challenges that were faced in the Persian Gulf. Her descriptions, especially while being held as a prisoner, were realistic and sometimes hard to read. I especially enjoyed learning about her views on women serving in the military since my own sister had chosen to spend her professional career with the U.S. Air Force.
To Ret. Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, Thank you for your service!

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

My low rating is not meant to be condemnation of her story, service, or the war. The book is written earnestly and honestly, and the event of her capture and imprisonment is remarkable. But I found nothing remarkable in its recounting or any new perspective. While I consider lessons from war important and the stories of POWs awe-inspiring I would not recommend this particular book.

[Jim Flagg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Vietnam era veteran Air Force fighter pilot I was impressed with this hero. I hadn’t heard of her before I found this book and I’m glad I did. During my time in the military I met a few Vietnam era POW’s including one who received the Medal of Honor. All of their stories are similar and should be studied by historians and military members. This hero after her experience in the Gulf went on to do important work to try to help military members and keep them from getting PTSD. I highly recommend this book to all readers who enjoy true stories of the military.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dug this book out for my son when he had to do a book report on a non-fiction book and didn’t have any ideas. Here is the last sentence of his report: “An inspirational story that shows just how much a positive attitude can allow you to overcome.”

[Bob Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very Self-Assured Commander Was Ready To Lead And Endure

This author’s story certainly isn’t mine, nor is hers a cookie cutter for other military women, or I suspect, many male soldiers.
But after reading this fast-paced book, I have no doubt Gen. Cornum’s personality and skill set helped her survive being a prisoner of war in Iraq.
This is a quick and ultimately uplifting read.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book recommended by my first sergeant, who knew the author. This was a short but powerful read. I enjoyed hearing about the author’s quick lead-up time to mobilization and was impressed with her grit. At the end, she makes a strong case for military resiliency training, which I appreciated. A quick but enjoyable read; was on the edge of my seat for most of my flight to a training conference. Cannot imagine the horror of being a POA, let along surviving a helicopter crash!

[Mert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a very engaging read. It is well written and tells a story of a segment of a life from a remarkable woman. Full disclosure: I am jaded as I served at the same time as Rhonda, was assigned to a sister aviation unit and I went through OCS with men Rhonda served with. So the book added extra interest for me. I had no idea of these coincidences until after reading the work.

[Angie Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

This book is incredible. Rhonda is incredible. Not only does it tell her story in full detail, but it is a great book that shows the strength of women. 10/10 recommended read.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring story. Gen. Cornyn was a trailblazer

The strength of mind required to remain optimistic while a POW is unusual. I hope that the final program that she implemented can impart even a fraction of that into the young troops.

[Kathleen Dragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and inspiring read.

[Jeff Bobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story of a woman at war in Iraq, shot down, taken prisoner and the story of being held captive.

Wonderful story of courage, integrity and bravery.

[Brian Laslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique history and addition to the scholarship on Operation Desert Storm.

[Jennifer Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good and inspiring story.

[Jacquelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story of courage, strength and vulnerability.

[Katie Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an inspiring story of strength, perseverance and courage. Would recommend this book a million times over.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important story to read about but Rhonda's ego got in the way of a lot of what she was trying to say. She is a genius, highly educated and successful Army doctor who seems too focused on being seen as one of the boys, rather than embracing being one of the girlies out there. If she was in my chain of command, I'd expect her to be overly harsh to prove that she can be just as mean or intense as a male counterpart. At the end of the day, she went through hell and an extremely scary event that she needed that attitude to cope and survive.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an action packed book. Nor is it a book about being tortured as a POW. It is simply a dedicated army doctor that loves her job and her country. We read about how she went from private research to join the army and follower her career through different areas of army life. Ms. Cornum does not want special treatment being a woman in the army. She takes pride in her work in what ever area she is assigned and will fulfill her responsibility.
She was highly respected among both male and female fellow military.
It was very interesting to read of her strong mind set and how she compartmentalizes to deal with what is at hand and not waste time worrying over what she cannot change.
To read of the bonds formed by having the common thread of their freedom taken away and how it was dealt with.
Interesting read.
On a personal note: I found out about this book because Ms. Cornum is a breeder of Gordon Setters, of which I am getting one of hers.

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhonda Cornum's 203 page autobiography is a brutally honest accounting of Operation Desert Storm from a flight surgeon/POW's perspective. It is extremely well written and factual. Though she was only in captivity for eight days, she was the face of all returning POWs from the Gulf War, which makes her story an important one in the annals of American military history.

There are more intriguing stories of time in captivity from former Gulf War POWs, since most of them were captured during the air war and not during the 100 hour ground campaign. However, what Cornum does successfully is incorporate the deployment conditions, uncertainty, and the excitement/trepidation of the 1990 Desert Shield-Desert Storm campaign. She captured the feelings of the time perfectly, since the book was written shortly after her captivity and published in 1992.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. I ordered this book on Amazon after learning Rhonda Cornum was the wife of the Medical Group Commander here at Keesler AFB, Brig Gen Kory Cornum--her husband. Gen Cornum also lives a few houses down from us in base housing and I've had the opportunity to interact with him on several occasions in disciplinary issues for his folks. It was pretty neat to get to know this intense part of Gen Cornum's life--the story of his wife's captivity in Iraq after being shot down in the first Gulf War.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was kind of interesting. Story of a flight surgeon who survived a helicopter crash in the first Gulf War. It was quite balanced in its treatment of the Iraqis, some of whom were abusive and some of whom were very decent. It's more than 20 years old now and I'm sure it's dropped off anyone's radar but mine. I don't know how it got on my list to read. Fortunately, at 200 pages of easy reading, it went quickly.

[Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final pages re-enforce today’s decision to allow women in combat even though this particular book was written in the 1990s. Although she didn’t spend a lot of time as a POW the lessons learned and illustrated are still valid. As a reader of multiple POW stories there is always a common theme for all survivors which is faith.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never be as Hooah as Major Cornum (or Brigadier General Cornum for that matter) but I found her voice in this memoir much more relatable than the other female war memoirs I've read. Highly recommended.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written and beautifully told. cornum's story has a bit of adult language and a few tough scenes, both during her captivity and later at home. I'm debating whether to share it with my middle schooler.

[Bgboppr · Rating 1 out of 5]

To the average person, this may seem to be a good book. For someone who was there, this book was creative fiction.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fortunate enough to work with BG Cornum. She is an amazing woman who has so much to share.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by the instructor of a resiliency training class that I took. Dr. Cornum is a perfect representation of what it means to be resilient!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting account of Maj. Cornum's experience in the Gulf War and her time as a prisoner of war. It is a detailed look behind the scenes that most have not experienced.

[Vonna Marcus]

An interesting story of Gulf War combat and the female doctor who was shot down and a POW. She testifys her statement of whether women should be in combat.