Charles DeGlopper, Normandy Hero and Medal of Honor Recipient

Dec 11 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper, Normandy Hero and Medal of Honor Recipient

The rain poured like fire. Bullets whistled past the shattered trees. Somewhere in the chaos, one man stood alone—exposed, relentless, dying to buy his brothers time. Charles N. DeGlopper didn’t just cover a retreat; he became the shield between life and death. His story doesn’t end in the mud—it burns on in every fighting man’s soul.

The Son of Hudson Falls

Charles N. DeGlopper was born in 1921 in Hudson Falls, New York, a small town carved from grit and river stone. Raised in a working-class family, he learned early the price of hard labor and loyalty. The New Deal-era hardships framed his worldview—a fierce, almost sacred devotion to duty and country.

Faith was his anchor. Raised in the Methodist tradition, DeGlopper held a quiet reverence for divine purpose. He carried something deeper than a rifle into battle—an unshakable code, born of scripture and sweat.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

His brothers in arms saw it too. Not just in prayer or pause, but in the way he stood for his unit’s honor, no matter the cost.

The Bloody Crucible: Normandy, June 9, 1944

The bloodiest stories write themselves in the hours after D-Day. France was a crucible of fire—fields turned into killing zones. Charles served in Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Their mission: capture a critical bridge over the Merderet River near La Fière, essential to halt German counterattacks and secure the beachhead.

The fight was brutal. Enemy machine guns pinned down the unit. The American advance stalled under relentless mortar and rifle fire. As the men fell back in disorder, DeGlopper saw a choice: run or stand fast.

He chose the latter.

Alone, exposed, he charged a well-entrenched German machine gun nest.

With only his rifle, DeGlopper fired volley after volley. His fire was suppressive—but more than that, it was sacrificial. His goal was to draw the enemy’s eyes and bullets away from the retreating comrades. Time was life. The men scrambled back across the river; lives saved by his defiant stand.

DeGlopper’s position gave no quarter, no cover—and he paid the ultimate price. Eyewitnesses reported he was hit multiple times before collapsing in the mud, but only after silencing or suppressing key enemy positions.

Recognition: Medal of Honor & Words That Echo

For his selfless valor, Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation distills the raw essence of battle:

“Gallantly covering the withdrawal of his comrades... alone and exposed, he stood in the face of overwhelming fire... his heroic action secured the withdrawal of the detachment, enabling his company to gain and hold the critical position.”

General Matthew Ridgway, 82nd Airborne commander, called his act “the essence of courage and sacrifice.” Fellow paratrooper James R. Lovering later said:

“Charlie went down fighting, holding that line so we could live. We owe him everything.”

The Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest tribute—is more than a medal. It’s a story burned into the fighting fabric of America. DeGlopper’s sacrifice wasn’t a lone gunshot; it was the heartbeat of brothers-in-arms, a testament to the warrior’s creed: no man left behind.

Legacy in Blood and Bone

DeGlopper’s story lives beyond glistening medals and dusty history books. His legacy is written in sacrifice and the raw edges of survival. The bridge at La Fière now bears his name. His high school honors him. Veterans still tell of the glider soldier who stood when others fled.

But there’s a deeper lesson—a reminder carved in courage and redemption—that combat is both hell and holy ground. His faith wasn’t an abstract belief; it was lived in the mud, under fire, in a choice to stand when every instinct screamed to run.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

For veterans, DeGlopper’s sacrifice is a compass in the fog of war. For civilians, a stark lesson that freedom is bought by blood-stained hands. The cost is high, the price measured in men like Charles N. DeGlopper, who chose to bear it.

His story is a scar—it hurts, yet teaches. It calls every one of us to remember the value of courage, the weight of sacrifice, and the redemptive power of standing firm in the darkest damn moments.

_Battlefields fade, but the legacy endures._ Charles N. DeGlopper did not merely die in Normandy. He became a standard—a fierce, fading light that guides those who fight for something greater than themselves. His life and sacrifice call us all back from the abyss, reminding us what true courage looks like: standing tall when every breath begs you to fall.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Citation, Charles N. DeGlopper. 2. Ambrose, Stephen E. Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, June 7, 1944–May 7, 1945. 3. 82nd Airborne Division Archives, After Action Reports, June 1944. 4. Lovering, James R., interview with Veterans History Project, Library of Congress.