| 704 E. St. Rd. 44 Rushville Indiana 46173 |
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CPL CHARLES E. “BUDDY” SIZEMORE, one of the many heroic veterans here at East Hill Cemetery. Laid to rest on Section 20, designed for our veterans and spouse. Army Cpl. Charles “Buddy” Sizemore of Rushville, Indiana was a 1948 graduate of Rushville High School. He enjoyed fishing, basketball and played the bass fiddle in the family band. His hometown proved it had not forgotten Buddy who was killed during the Korean War whose remains were returned to the United States 50 years later. As a police-led motorcade traveled from the church to the cemetery, people stood in their doorways watching. Small American flags hung from telephone poles. In the center of town, fire trucks had been pulled out of their stations and were parked with their lights flashing. At the entrance of the cemetery, the Rushville and Connersville fire departments had hung a gigantic US flag from a fire truck and fire fighters saluted as Buddy’s remains passed by. He was declared missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950, after the Chinese infantry overran the 8 th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan, North Korea. Hundreds of his fellow soldiers died. Days later, Jimmy Sizemore received a telegram notifying him that his brother was missing in action. He delivered the news to their parents, Asher and Odessa Sizemore. He didn’t learn any more about his brother’s fate until 2000, when the North Korean government reported finding Sizemore’s remains in a mass grave. Sizemore gave a blood sample to be used in a DNA test and received notification that the Army had identified his brother’s remains. Those remains were returned to Indiana accompanied by an Army honor guard. Jimmy told those gathered that he and his brother were part of a country and western group that performed as Asher and little Jimmy at the Grand Ole Opry and other places across the country. Jimmie and Buddy had plans to begin performing again as soon as Buddy got out of the service. When Buddy, who was born in 1929, was old enough, he joined the family country western musical group playing base fiddle and was the group's comedian. Their baby sister, Nancy, was also featured with the family. They were among the first Kentuckians inducted in the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame.
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