Charles DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero at St Come-du-Mont Normandy

Dec 30 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero at St Come-du-Mont Normandy

The air was thick with smoke and death. Cartridges snapped overhead, whizzing past Charlie DeGlopper like angry hornets. He saw his men faltering, cut down by a merciless storm of machine-gun and mortar fire. The hill behind them was lost ground. A retreat spelled disaster. But Charlie stepped into the hail. Barely a word. Just action.

From the Quiet Hills of New York to the Roar of War

Charles Neil DeGlopper came from the quiet hills near Malone, New York. A son of steady, blue-collar stock—hard work framed his boyhood; faith, a steadying hand in the chaos to come. His small-town roots forged his grit. There was no softness in his calling but no bitterness, either.

His conviction? A soldier’s duty was more than orders — it was honor. John 15:13 cut deep for him: _“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”_ That wasn’t just scripture. It was a promise. A code.

When the war called, Charlie answered, enlisting in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Airborne Division. Here, across the oceans, the real crucible awaited.

St. Come-du-Mont, June 9, 1944 — The Hill That Secretly Became a Grave

Just three days after D-Day, the 82nd Airborne moved inland. A vital objective: hold a hill behind St. Come-du-Mont, Normandy. Losing it meant the rest of the regiment’s withdrawal would turn into slaughter.

DeGlopper’s platoon was ordered to retreat under heavy enemy fire. An impossible task. The Germans had them pinned.

Charlie did something no man should have to do — he volunteered to cover the withdrawal alone.

Heavy machine guns raked the area. Bullets tore into dirt and flesh alike. But he put camouflage netting over the last of his men and opened fire with his automatic rifle. The firing stuttered. The Germans hesitated, then pressed the attack.

Charlie stood tall as a rock in a river of hell, firing relentlessly, drawing enemy fire. He was shot twice but kept going—feeding cartridges, standing, shooting. His ragged defense bought critical time. His comrades slipped away, lives saved by his sacrifice.

Eventually, the hill swallowed him: a bullet to the stomach ended the fight and his life.

Medal of Honor — The Nation’s Highest Tribute

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on November 17, 1944, Charles N. DeGlopper’s citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. When the attack had to be withdrawn and his platoon ordered back, DeGlopper voluntarily remained behind to cover the movement. With absolute disregard for his own safety, he fired at the enemy despite being severely wounded.

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, commander of the 82nd Airborne, called DeGlopper “a man who typifies the spirit and bravery of all paratroopers.” Fellow veterans recall his actions as the embodiment of selfless sacrifice: he stood alone, a human shield against annihilation.

The Weight of Sacrifice — A Legacy Written in Blood

Charlie’s life ended at 22, but his courage echoes across generations. The hill at St. Come-du-Mont is now a memorial ground. Soldiers who followed marked his sacrifice as a standard.

What Charlie DeGlopper gave was more than his life; it was a lesson in the rawest form of leadership — the willingness to be last, to bear the brunt, so others might live.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth…” (Revelation 14:13) — His story is carved in that blessed truth.