Charles DeGlopper Medal of Honor hero at Saint-Lô, Normandy

Nov 30 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper Medal of Honor hero at Saint-Lô, Normandy

Charles DeGlopper stood alone, pinned down by a hailstorm of bullets and artillery. Every breath burned. Smoke choked the air. Behind him, men scrambled to escape the tightening noose of German forces. There was no retreat but this—himself as the human shield. No hesitation. No surrender. Just raw, brutal resolve.

Blood and Rooted Values

Charles N. DeGlopper grew up in the dirt and sweat of nearby New York farms, a simple boy raised in the grit and grace of small-town America. The son of a working-class family, his faith was quiet but unshakable—a steady compass through chaos. Church pews, Sunday hymns, prayers whispered before fights that no boy should fight.

He enlisted, not for glory, but because he believed in a cause greater than himself. Romans 12:1—“present your bodies as a living sacrifice”—was not just scripture, but a creed he silently lived by. Duty drove him; honor defined him.

Fury at Saint-Lô: The Moment of Truth

June 9, 1944. The hedgerows of Normandy spattered with mud, blood, and the shattered hopes of many. DeGlopper, a private in the 82nd Airborne Division’s 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, found his unit under brutal fire. German machine guns zeroed in, halting the American advance and threatening to splinter the thin line holding their ground.

As his comrades fell back, wounded and terrified, DeGlopper made a choice that can only come from the depths of courage or desperation. Alone, he rose into the open, fully exposed, to fire at the enemy positions. He became a one-man anvil, hammering back the German spurts of lead.

His actions weren’t a reckless stand—they were strategic, a sacrificial act to stall the German advance and buy precious seconds for his force to regroup. The moments stretched into hell as bullets tore at him. Finally, he fell—bloodied, broken, but never bowed.

The Medal of Honor—A Brother’s Testimony

Posthumous recognition came swiftly, but only after eyewitness accounts confirmed the raw valor of that day. The Medal of Honor citation reads in part:

“Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity... Despite deadly fire, he stood his ground and delivered continuous and accurate fire against the enemy, enabling his unit to withdraw safely.”

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, who later commanded the 82nd Airborne, recalled years later:

“DeGlopper’s sacrifice exemplifies the highest traditions of the airborne soldier. His courage was the steel that held his brothers' line when all seemed lost.”

He paid the ultimate price for a fleeting moment of American survival that helped forge the path to victory. His name is etched not just in medals but in the hearts of those who owe their lives and freedom to his stand.

Echoes Through Time: Courage Beyond the Battlefield

Charles DeGlopper’s story is a stark testament—not just to personal bravery, but to the raw cost of war and what it demands. His sacrifice reminds veterans and civilians alike that freedom is never free. It is bought with blood, pain, and the unyielding will of those who answer the call when everything else screams retreat.

His story compels us to remember those left behind—the brothers he saved, the families who prayed, the nation that endured. It is a legacy carved in rubble and redemption, where courage crosses line after line between fear and purpose.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

DeGlopper's stand was an unspoken prayer. The kind that asks not for survival, but for sacrifice. In his death, a battalion lived. In his silence, a thousand voices echoed. This is the currency of war—and of faith—a currency he paid in full, so others might walk freer and safer.

His scars may be buried beneath dirt and decades, but his spirit walks each soldier still standing, each citizen still believing. That is why Charles N. DeGlopper’s fight will never end—because some fights are for eternity.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Maxwell D. Taylor, The Path of Glory: The Autobiography of General Maxwell D. Taylor 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Charles N. DeGlopper Citation