JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
When U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum talks about her prisoner of war experience during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, she’s always surprised at the response to her story.
"So many people tell me, ‘I wouldn’t have made it if that was me,"’ said Cornum, while speaking before a Joint Base San Antonio- Lackland crowd at the Bob Hope Theater for Wingman Day April 12. "And make no mistake, I was in trouble; I had a broken leg, two broken arms, a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a gunshot wound in the back."
As a flight surgeon with the 229th Attack Helicopter Regiment, Cornum’s Black Hawk helicopter was shot down while trying to rescue a downed F-16 pilot.
In addition to her injuries, she also suffered the trauma of a mock execution as her Iraqi captors tried to coerce information out of her.
For Cornum, these problems were simply a matter of perspective. Yes, she was wounded, crippled, and struggling to even make it out of her flight suit to go to the bathroom. But she wasn’t dead, and that was a start.
"When I hear people ask … ‘how did you make it?’ I just tell them that nobody’s ever died from pain – so of course I made it," Cornum said.
Cornum was one of thousands of former POWs honored on National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day April 9. Many of these individuals have experienced "indescribable suffering" and are "often physically and mentally tortured," according to a White House release.
During her Wingman Day speech, Cornum walked the crowd through her thought process during her captivity, pointing out how mental resiliency and perspective helped keep her problem-solving skills sharp during the harrowing experience.
"It really is up to the person how big the problem is," said Cornum, advising the audience to develop resiliency through practice with every — day problems. "I didn’t start being a resilient, high-adaptability individual when I got shot — I started when I was a kid and fell of my bike. Regardless of the size of the problem, your problem-solving skills will remain the same."
Cornum noted that experiences ranging from childhood slip-ups to wrecking her pick-up truck and horse trailer helped her build the mental strength necessary to be a leader when times are tough.
"I can say with a lot of authority that resilient thinking skills can get you through anything — and I have a litany of adverse experiences, so I know this works," Cornum said. "With my POW story, Soldiers will say to themselves, ‘Well, shoot, if it works for that, it’ll work for anything."
In addition to passing along lessons of resiliency, Cornum said her speech was meant to reassure service members that the U.S. military won’t forget about those who encounter trouble while deployed.
"In the Armed Forces, we’re all either big guys or little guys," she said. "But that doesn’t matter when you get captured – we come back for everyone."
This philosophy, in addition to boosting morale, is meant to give service members confidence while serving abroad.
Not all of these rescue missions are successful – as Cornum’s regiment can attest – but the military will carry them out regardless, she explained.
"We say we’re never going to leave a fallen comrade, but actions speak louder than words," Cornum said. "Everybody that we send off to do real hard, dangerous things — where there’s a lot of risk — we need to let you know that we will come and get you