In 2020, Nancy Wittemyer and Jacquie Kilburn donated a collection of materials to the Strauss Health Sciences Library documenting the life and military service of their uncle, Dr. Jack Comstock. Dr. Comstock, a 1938 graduate of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, served as a physician in the U.S. Army and was captured following the fall of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II. He endured the Bataan Death March and spent more than three years as a prisoner of war, where he continued to care for fellow prisoners under extraordinarily difficult conditions.
Among the most significant items in the collection is Dr. Comstock's wartime diary, which he secretly recorded on scraps of paper throughout his captivity. Written at great personal risk, the diary documents daily life in the prison camps, including the medical challenges faced by physicians with limited supplies, the arrival of relief packages, changing conditions within the camps, and the loss of fellow prisoners. Together with his correspondence, military memorabilia, and personal artifacts, the collection provides a remarkable firsthand account of resilience, service, and survival during World War II.
A selection of materials from the Jack Comstock Collection is on permanent display on the second floor of the Strauss Health Sciences Library. Additional archival materials from the collection are available to explore through the CU Anschutz Digital Collections.