Velma Belle Comstock Brooke

2020-02-12T12:08:53-06:00
Marine Corp Badge
  • Name: Velma Belle Brooke (Comstock)
  • Location of Birth: Boring, Oregon
  • Date of Birth: December 26, 1916
  • Date of Death: March 28, 2016
  • Parents: Fred E. Comstock, Sr. & Belle (Stevens) Comstock
  • High School and Class: 1934 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
  • College:
  • Highest Rank: T SGT (Technical Sergeant)
  • Branch: Marine Corp
  • Other Branch:
  • Date Sworn In: June 23, 1943
  • Place Sworn In: Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Date of Discharge: August 22, 1946
  • Place of Discharge: Denver, Colorado
  • Military Awards:
    American Campaign Medal
    World War II Victory Medal

  • Military Highlights:
    Velma Comstock worked as secretary for Minneapolis St. Louis ((MLR) Railroad in Minneapolis, Minnesota until enlisting in the USMC. Her boss, the Assistant Controller, asked her why a nice girl like her would want to go off and join the Marines. Velma enlisted anyway and told the Marine Corps recruiter that she would like to be stationed in the recruiting office in Denver, Colorado. “We don’t let girls do those jobs”, he explained. “Can’t you make an exception?” was her feisty comeback. Velma got her way. Her basic training took place at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. She served as a Transportation Sergeant in the Denver recruiting office, helping new recruits with transportation from home to their destination in the Marine Corps. Velma felt honored to be one of those women who answered the call to “be a Marine and free a man to fight.”

  • Wars Involved:
    World War II

  • MIA / POW:

  • Civilian Life:
    Velma Comstock married Charles F. Brooke in 1945 in Colorado. The family loved being outdoors, spending time camping in the mountains in Colorado, which Velma continued well into her 90s. She and Charles enjoyed downhill skiing and also traveled extensively throughout the world. She worked at Budweiser Distributing and the Denver Public School; volunteered at the University Hospital Gift Shop, Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum; was an active member of the Windsor Gardens Optimist Club, Women Marines, and the Red Hat Society. She is survived by her children, Fred, Liz (Jim Carney), Rob (Jeri) and Norm (Shirley); 6 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren.

    Velma died in Denver, Colorado at the age of 99 and is buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado (Sec. 1, Site 1013.

  • Tribal Affiliation(s):

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