Top of page

Collection Veterans History Project Collection

« Back to Women at War page

Rhonda Cornum, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment
  • Location of Service: Kuwait
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/19247

View full service history

"I would have been afraid, except that I was so grateful to be alive." (Video Interview, Part I, 54:44)

In a conflict as brief and lopsided as the Persian Gulf War, it may be surprising that there were actually American prisoners of war. Rhonda Cornum was one; she served with an Attack Helicopter Battalion as a medical officer, went down in a helicopter crash and for seven days was held by the Iraqis. She drew on her training as both a soldier and doctor to survive her brief but painful ordeal.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Rhonda Cornum Collection

Names

  • McDowell, Ivonne C.
  • Winchester, Brad
  • Department of Veterans Affairs, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Cornum, Rhonda

Home State

  • Kentucky

Headings

  • -  Cornum, Rhonda
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: 2nd Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment
    • Location of Service: Kuwait
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1978
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was captured when her helicopter was shot down on a search and rescue mission during the Persian Gulf War. Veteran is as of 6/4/2003 still serving in the Army.

Materials

  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Video: DVCAM [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-06-04)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/19247

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit/Ship

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mcdowell, Ivonne C, Brad Winchester, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs Department Of Veterans Affairs, and Rhonda Cornum. Rhonda Cornum Collection. 1978. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19247/.

APA citation style:

McDowell, I. C., Winchester, B., Department Of Veterans Affairs, P. &. I. A. & Cornum, R. (1978) Rhonda Cornum Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19247/.

MLA citation style:

Mcdowell, Ivonne C, et al. Rhonda Cornum Collection. 1978. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.19247/>.