European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Rhonda Cornum s War of survival in iraqi hands by Rosemary Jones the Allentown morning Call. My maj. Rhonda Cornum says her life has been a series of efforts to gain control to dominate a situation. I Don t even like to be a passenger in a car i like to be the Driver she says. She always wondered what it would be like if she Ever lost that control. As a prisoner of the the persian Gulf War she found out that being a prisoner of War is the ultimate loss of control especially for a pow with two broken she likens it to rape noting that both experiences have the potential to be devastating. Being a pow is the rape of your entire Cornum was t physically raped although she was sexually fondled by one of her iraqi guards. And while she does t make Light of her ordeal she insists you have to keep it in perspective i considered the assault on me inconsequential when measured in terms of my two broken arms and watching men die in the she Learned in those iraqi bunkers and prison cells that the experience of being a prisoner does t have to be devastating that it depends on you. You can give up control of your mind but no one can take it away from you. Your captors can torture you and even kill you but you still have control As Long As you can she remembers wondering if her body would Ever be Strong again if her two broken arms would Ever heal if she would Ever be Able to run again. And Al though she was t sure How she would adjust to being slower or permanently disabled she convinced herself that As Long As her brain was working i d be in a Telephone interview from her Post at fort Rucker ala., Cornum said that although All my wounds have healed my Little Finger will never be the same and the muscle in my right shoulder in t like it was and not look As Good in a Bikini. But that could be because i m 37" obviously her sense of humor is still intact. Cornum detailed her experiences As an army flight surgeon attached to the 101st airborne div during operation desert storm in she went to War Presidio press. Written with Peter Copeland Pentagon correspondent for Scripps Howard news service the Book is not Only a War Story. It s also an account of Cor Mim s Back ground and the circumstances that led to her conviction that women can serve As effectively As men in the Mili tary even in combat situations. Cornum never expected to be in the army or become a physician. The eldest of four children self reliant and a Tomboy she asserted her Independence when she decided she wanted to pay her own Way through College. I ice High school grades were Good enough to win Hora full tuition scholarship to Wilmington College in Ohio where she majored in science. After two years she transferred to Cornell University where she received a Bachelor of science in microbiology and genetics and later a doctorate in nutrition and biochemistry. Cor Mim s first exposure to the army came during her second year of graduate school when a Lieuten ant colonel expressed interest in a paper she had presented at a conference. He told her the army was looking for someone to do research in the same Field. In april 1978,1 signed the papers raised my right hand and swore to defend the country As an officer in the . Army she writes. The Way i saw things i was swearing to do research not fight she was working with other scientists who were physicians making More Money and holding a higher rank than she. I reached an impasse when i wanted to do research on humans she says. The army would t let me unless i worked with a physician 1 decided i could work with rats and chickens the rest of my life or i could go to medical school and be come a physician while she was attending the military s uniformed services University in both Coda md., she also look the army s aviation Medicine Basic course to pre pare As a flight surgeon which she says is basically a general practitioner who cares for pilots at Home and in the in medical school she also met the Man who would become her husband Kory Cornum was Anair Force student who was responsible for Persuad ing her to take the flight surgeon route with him. She says he played in smart during their courtship win Ning first the heart of Regan her 6-Ycar-old Daugh Ter from her previous marriage. The course involved learning to Fly helicopters which she found she loved. Even now she says i can t believe they pay me to do it. I d pay the army to let me Fly. It was during a search and Rescue Mission inside iraqi territory in february 1991 that the helicopter carrying Cornum and seven other americans was shot Down. Five of them were killed. Cornum regained consciousness pinned on the desert floor by a piece of the copter s fuselage. She quickly found out that her left leg was the Only part of her body still functioning reasonably Well. Both her arms were broken Between the Elbow and shoulder causing excruciating pain whenever she was forced to move them. A ligament in Hei knee was torn. She had a Bullet in her Back. She was bleeding from a Cut Over her Eye. Surprised that one of their captives was a woman the guards did t seem to know what to do with her. But they knew enough she says with a Trace of annoyance to search me. They took the journal i had started when we were alerted for the War my watch a camera that actually belonged to my daughter and my wedding along with fellow prisoners she was moved from one Bunker to another and from one cell to the next 11 times during the eight Days she was in iraqi hands. She said she was treated fairly humanely. Her useless arms made it impossible for her to feed her self so her guards fed her. They helped her use the bathroom facilities despite their obvious Embarrass ment. Her Only resentment was toward the guard who made sexual advances and the Soldier who took her wedding ring. Shortly after her release she was reunited with her husband aboard the Hospital ship mercy. Facing surgery and rehabilitation when ship re turned to the United states Cornum says that being a patient for the first time taught me some important lessons about Medicine and being a doctor. Never before had i paid sufficient attention to the nursing staff but nurses provided some of my most important care in Iraq and after i was also she says i was the Best source of information about what was wrong with me not just because Lama doctor but because i Wasty he one with the broken Bones. I am now acutely aware of the feeling of helplessness that patients must Cornum testified twice about her experience As a woman serving in combat before the presidential commission for the assignment of women in the military. The first time i told them that like men some women will be Good some will be bad arid some will be great and the percentages of each Aren t any different from men. The second time i discussed my situation As a prisoner of War and the sexual ramifications of Rodolfo Sioson s ordeal continued a m a of 5 Ful too her disability had not affected her mind. My intellect is the same she says. That makes a Jug in year one she quickly mastered the sip and puff system in which she blows air into a Straw like device that guides her motorized wheelchair. She Learned to use a keyboard system with a Mouth stick for Homework and letters hundreds of people from around the would wrote her and a voice activated electronic unit that allows her to turn on the in radio and appliances. She overcame her worries about mane vering her wheelchair her fears of falling off the lifts of buses and vans her irritation at having people stare at her. She has a lot of Talent and a lot of desire says her Friend Gharib. She works at something until she gels what she All disabled people pc go on they have to demonstrate a tremendous resiliency of the human spirit says Mary u hse her physical therapist in Iowa. She has done i ice widowed Mother who moved with her Hus. Band and four children from the Philippines to Iowa when Rodolfo Sioson was a baby says her Daugh Ter s rebound has amazed her. But Rodolfo Sioson has been depressed too Early on and at the anniversary of the shooting. On nov. 1,1991, she was a temporary receptionist on Campus when gang la a former physics Grad uate student from China went on his rampage. Upset his dissertation had t been nominated for an award he killed his rival three professors and an associate University vice president. He then shot Rodolfo Sioson his Only random victim. The Bullet knocked out four Bottom Teeth and ripped though her Throat damaging her spinal Cord and leaving her paralysed. She has no bladder or Bowel control. She can lift her lower arms slightly but can t her hands. Gang s final act was to turn his .38-caliber hand gun on himself. It was Over for him in 12 minutes. Rodolfo Sioson continues to lobby for Central american causes on Campus. She plans to attend graduate school focusing on latin american or third world studies. In year one she has to Learned to press ahead with her work and not hide her frustrations. I think my family realized i can t always put on a Brave face and act like it s nothing i can handle everything. It s unfair to me. I did try to do she says she never forgets she was Given a second lease on life while others were not. All those widows they Don t have anything of their husbands except memories and pictures she says. Compared to them i m really really Page 6 it Bruaw 1993
