Colorado School of Mines, 1950
Hometown: Pueblo, CO
Inducted April 2015
Colonel Keith G. Comstock graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1950, as an Army ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Engineer branch. He later returned to the Colorado School of Mines to earn a Masters of Engineering, with a concentration in Nuclear Metallurgy, in 1958.
Colonel Comstock enlisted in the United States Army in 1943, at the height of World War II, famously passing his physical only after memorizing the eye chart. While enlisted, he was assigned to the Signal Corps, where he saw action in Burma, as part of an engineer pipeline company. Using the GI Bill, Colonel Comstock enrolled at the Colorado School of Mines and joined the ROTC program, graduating in June 1950, just as the Korean War began, which would be the second military combat campaign in which he would take part. In 1951, following the Engineer Officer Basic Course, he was assigned to the Albuquerque District Engineers Office, where he monitored technical projects at White Sands Proving Grounds. In recognition of his courage and engineering talent, Colonel Comstock was hand-selected to participate in a now declassified top-secret mission, designated Operation Gold, in which the United States Army tunneled into East Berlin to tap into Russian land-line communications, providing 40,000 hours of recorded enemy telephone conversations. He was assigned to the Pentagon from 1958-1961, followed by an assignment to the Army Material Command, where he was named Director of Development and Engineering at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command and earned the rank of Colonel.
Colonel Comstock’s military education includes Basic Combat Training, Signal Corp Army Specialized Training Program, Engineer Officer Basic Course, and the Engineer Officer Advanced Course. His military awards include the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit.
Colonel Comstock retired in 1969, at the age of 45, completing a 22-year Army career. Following his retirement from active military service, he began working for General Motors, where he spent an additional 18-years. Today, Colonel Comstock lives in Fairfield Glade, TN with his wife, Helen. He has three surviving children, a son and two daughters.