Staff Sergeant Mark D. Cornwell was born on 9 December 1954 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He served as a CH-47 Crew Chief in Alpha Company, 159th Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The accident that claimed his life on a CH-47 Chinook, #845, occurred on 10 July 1983 on South Fox Island, Michigan, located at the northern tip of Lake Michigan. SSG Cornwell and the crew were planning and developing new doctrine, tactics, and techniques that have made the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) what it is today.

SSG Cornwell is laid to rest in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at Evergreen Cemetery, block 00115.