cover image She Went to War: The Rhonda Cornum Story

She Went to War: The Rhonda Cornum Story

Rhonda Cornum. Presidio Press, $19.95 (203pp) ISBN 978-0-89141-463-6

This thrilling account of the Gulf war is all the more affecting for its matter-of-fact, unpretentious tone. The story is that of Army battalion surgeon and helicopter pilot Cornum--a major, wife of an Air Force officer and mother of a 14-year-old daughter--who was captured when her helicopter was shot down deep in Iraqi territory. One of only three survivors, Cornum required medical care for fractured arms, a broken finger, a smashed knee and lacerations--and received it after three days of being roughly shuttled from bunkers to primitive prisons. That she survived the painful, humilating ordeal all the way to Baghdad and repatriation via the International Red Cross was due not only to her grit but to an irrespressible vitality. Aside from her own heroic tale, Cornum--ably assisted by Copeland, Pentagon and Gulf War correspondent for the Scripps Howard News Service--emphasizes the importance of comradeship with other members of the mammoth war machine who shared both the long months of waiting and the dangers of combat and captivity. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)