Charles DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero on Hill 974 in Normandy

Dec 22 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero on Hill 974 in Normandy

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on the ridge. The enemy lay just beyond the tree line—guns hammering, grenades spitting fire. His comrades were pulling back, pinned and bleeding, caught in a merciless trap. With no orders, barely a moment to think, DeGlopper charged forward into hell’s mouth, firing from the hip. Heat, smoke, death swirling—he became the shield no one else dared to be.

The Boy from Mechanicville

Born in 1921, Charles grew up in a small New York town where hard work and faith shaped every man’s spine. Raised on scripture and a strict sense of duty, he carried those lessons like armor.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,” he must have felt in his marrow. But peace sometimes wears scars—and the cost is high.

Before the war, DeGlopper was a simple man: steady, humble, grounded by his family’s values. Yet behind his quiet strength was the forge of resolve that only the battlefield could test.

Hill 974: A Defining Inferno

June 9, 1944, Normandy—two days after D-Day. The 82nd Airborne Division fought to hold a vital ridge near La Fière. Charles served with Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. Their mission was to delay the advancing German forces, buying time for reinforcements.

When his squad retreated under blinding fire, DeGlopper did not follow.

He stayed. Alone. Firing an M1 rifle from his hip. Falling back inch by inch, he screamed defiance into enemy fire.

His grenade blasts bundled the German advance.

Every volley held the line a heartbeat longer. He became the last barrier between death and dozens of his comrades.

His body took the punishment—a bullet ripped through his flesh. But still, he fought.

By the time the 82nd could regroup, DeGlopper had paid the ultimate price. His sacrifice wasn’t an accident—it was the purposeful, brutal choice of a man who knew what valor truly costs.

Medal of Honor: A Fallen Hero's Testament

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on November 1, 1944, DeGlopper’s citation tells the story in brutal clarity:

“He, single-handedly, wiped out a German machine gun and allowed the 3rd Battalion to withdraw safely.” —Department of the Army, Medal of Honor citation.

General Matthew Ridgway spoke of the young soldier decades later:

“DeGlopper’s action exemplified the highest courage any soldier can show. His sacrifice saved lives and embodies what we stand for.”

The citation cites a man who understood mission and comradeship above self — the purest stubbornness of a warrior’s heart.

A Legacy Written in Blood

Charles DeGlopper’s body rests thousands of miles from home, but his story lives where courage still meets chaos.

What does it mean to fight for your brothers? To stand when everyone else falls back? To become the shield?

He answered it with blood and rifle fire.

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

This is not just a story of war. It’s a story of sacrifice stamped on the soul of America’s finest. Our legacy demands we remember that courage, that faith in something beyond ourselves.

DeGlopper died so others might live. His sacrifice reminds us: valor is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

And in that truth, wounded veterans and civilians alike find a compass—not just for battle, but for life itself.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, "Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G–L)", Department of the Army. 2. Richard E. Killblane, The Battle of Normandy - The 82nd Airborne Division, Combat Studies Institute Press. 3. Matthew B. Ridgway, Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway, 1956. 4. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, "Charles N. DeGlopper" profile.