Kelly Buddhu
| Date and Place of Birth: | February 3, 1916 Louisville, KY |
| Date and Place of Death: | April 2, 1943 near El Guettar, Tunisia. |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Shortstop |
| Rank: | Private First Class |
| Military Unit: | 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
Charles W. “Kelly” Buddhu, son of Charles and
Lettie Buddhu, was born February 3, 1916, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Buddhu attended du Pont Manual Training High School where he was a
baseball star and captained the team.
The 19-year-old shortstop was signed by the
Baltimore Orioles in June 1935, and assigned to the Thomasville Orioles
of the Class D Georgia-Florida League where he played a handful of
games. By September, he was back in Kentucky and playing with the Falls
City Lagers.
In 1936, he was back with the Thomasville Orioles
and batted .197 in 20 games, before returning to Kentucky to play for
the Eppings Independents.
Late in 1936, Buddhu was selected to play for the
all-star team of the American Baseball Congress in the international
amateur world series, which included an extensive tour of Mexico.
Buddhu didn’t return to minor league baseball and
continued to play for teams in Kentucky. In May 1938, he almost lost his
life. Buddhu was a passenger in a car that failed to make a turn on the
outskirts of Louisville, crashed into a ditch and rolled over twice. The
22-year-old suffered internal injuries and lacerations to his head and
was treated at St. Joseph’s Infirmary.
In 1940, Buddhu was playing for Bernheim’s whiskey
distillery baseball team and working as a labourer at the distillery. He
enlisted in the army in July 1941, and leftt for Europe in September
1942, with the 39th Infantry Regiment of the 9th
Infantry Division.
Private First Class Buddhu and the 9th
Infantry Division, reached Algeria in November 1942. After guarding the
Spanish Moroccan border, the Division headed towards Tunisia to take on
German forces.
On April 2, 1943, Buddhu was reported missing in a
battle near El Guettar in Tunisia. His body was never recovered and he
was declared dead on April 3, 1944. Private First Class Buddhu is
remembered at the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in
Tunisia.
Date Added March 26, 2020
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