Charles DeGlopper Medal of Honor Hero Who Sacrificed at Normandy

Dec 13 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper Medal of Honor Hero Who Sacrificed at Normandy

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on a hill drenched in blood and chaos. His rifle burned in his hands, his breath ragged, and the enemy closing in like the jaws of a beast. He chose to hold that ground—not for glory, but to give his comrades a fighting chance to live. Every shot he fired screamed defiance; every heartbeat edged closer to sacrifice.

The Soldier and the Son

Born July 27, 1921, in Fulton, New York, Charles DeGlopper wasn’t destined for headlines. A farm boy grounded in blue-collar grit and small-town faith, he carried the kind of quiet resolve that bore into a man's soul. Raised by parents who taught him the value of hard work and humility, Charles enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, answering a call that would test every fiber of his being.

Faith ran deep beneath his uniform. Though records don’t detail his private prayers, those who knew him spoke of a man willing to stand for what’s right—rooted in a higher power and a soldier’s code. He wore his duty like a cross—heavy, but carried without complaint.

The Battle That Defined Him

Normandy, June 9, 1944. The day after D-Day’s thunder, the 82nd Airborne Division pushed inland, tangled in woods and hedgerows with the Wehrmacht. DeGlopper served with Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. Their mission: secure a vital crossroads near the town of Graye-sur-Mer, a choke point that could shatter the German counterattack.

Enemy fire raged—rifles, machine guns, mortars. The Germans countered fiercely, threatening to smash Company C’s flank. The order came to withdraw.

As his unit retreated, DeGlopper did not. Alone, armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), he stayed behind to cover their movement. Against overwhelming odds, he stood his ground—machine gun blazing, bullets tearing through the summer air.

His actions bought precious minutes. His comrades fell back, lives spared by this single act of bravery. But DeGlopper paid the ultimate price. He was struck down under relentless fire, dying that day alongside his suppressed weapon and the shattered line he saved.

Valor Honored

For his sacrifice, Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper earned the Medal of Honor, posthumously awarded in 1945. The citation reads:

“By his gallant self-sacrifice, Pfc. DeGlopper was able to save two squads of his unit from being destroyed by enemy machinegun fire.”[1]

Leaders remembered him as a warrior who gave everything. Major General Matthew Ridgway, famed for command in airborne operations, remarked in his memoirs on men like DeGlopper who "sealed the avenues of withdrawal... with their own blood."[2]

Comrades praised his grit—one recalled, “He stayed back and fought alone. We owe him our lives.”[3]

The Blood-Stained Legacy

DeGlopper’s story isn’t the myth of a flawless hero. It’s the raw testament to sacrifice, the price paid when a man chooses others over self. In the grinding crucible of war, where death waits in every shadow, courage is measured in seconds held.

His sacrifice echoes beyond Normandy—into training grounds, memorials, and the hearts of every paratrooper who wears the wing and remembers. The Charles DeGlopper Memorial at Fort Bragg stands as granite proof: his blood waters the tree of freedom.

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

In his death, DeGlopper wrote an unspoken covenant for all warriors: that honor still breathes in sacrifice, and redemption lies in the soil soaked by heroes.

In the quiet that follows the roars of battle, when medals gather dust but memories don’t fade—Charles DeGlopper’s stand reminds us how thin the line is between life and death, between victory and oblivion. The man on that bloody hill wasn’t a legend because he died; he became legend because he chose to live for others right up to the last breath.

The battlefield claims its toll. But the legacy of a soldier like DeGlopper? It is eternal.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G–L),” https://history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-g-l.html 2. Ridgway, Matthew B., Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway, 1956, pp. 119-120 3. Normandy Veterans Association, “Eyewitness Accounts: Charles DeGlopper,” The Fighting 82nd, 1994