Oct 22 , 2025
Charles DeGlopper, Normandy Hero Who Bought Time for His Men
Charles DeGlopper stood alone in a slaughterhouse of bullets and chaos, clutching his BAR, the only barrier between death and his men. The roar of German firestorms drowned the air, but he held fast, spraying rounds into the darkness. He bought time with his blood. No retreat without him. Few stood that day, fewer still left breathing because of one man who refused to quit.
The Boy from Ticonderoga
Born August 27, 1921, in Ticonderoga, New York, Charles N. DeGlopper carried the steel backbone of small-town America. Raised in simplicity, grounded in hard work and quiet faith, he embodied what the Old Guard would call a man of honor. Before the war, he was just a delivery driver—a status that meant little when the world called war. But beneath the surface was a soldier’s heart and a soul tempered by conviction.
His faith? Unwritten but felt. A soldier’s creed often escapes the tongue—it breathes in deeds under fire and silent prayers before battle.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
That scripture wasn’t just ink to him—it became a promise in the hell of war.
The Battle That Defined Him: Normandy, June 9, 1944
Just days after D-Day, DeGlopper’s unit, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, North African veterans reborn on Normandy soil, faced hell in the hedgerows. The Germans were dug in deep around the causeway near La Fière, Normandy. The American advance hit a wall—machine guns, mortars, artillery raining death.
The order: Retreat.
But the withdrawal risked turning into a rout. DeGlopper volunteered to cover the pullback.
Armed with his Browning Automatic Rifle, he ran forward across open terrain, bullets ripping the earth around him. Each burst of fire was a heartbeat, buying precious moments. “He was a wall,” recalled a fellow soldier.
Severely wounded—yet still standing—he kept firing. When silence was near, he stood exposed, silencing enemy positions that threatened his comrades. Ultimately, he was overwhelmed and killed, but his actions saved countless lives that day.
This wasn’t reckless bravado. It was savvy sacrifice under fire, liberty's final price balanced on a man’s breaking body.
Honors Unearned by Many
On February 13, 1946, Charles N. DeGlopper posthumously received the Medal of Honor. The President’s citation pulled no punches:
“With complete disregard for his own welfare, he stood and delivered deadly accurate fire at the advancing Germans... his gallant stand enabled his company to withdraw... his act of gallantry reflects the highest credit.”
Generals and fellow soldiers echoed this reverence. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. described DeGlopper’s actions as “a heroic example of soldierly devotion.”
His sacrifice became a lodestar for the 1st Infantry Division’s storied legacy—the “Big Red One” remembered and revered.
The Lasting Legacy
DeGlopper’s battlefield is a stark reminder—redemption is bought in blood and grit, in moments when fear threatens and courage chooses instead. His stand wasn’t a grand battle but a grim, necessary act of selflessness.
Every veteran who draws breath owes a debt to men like Charles, the silent pillars who hold the line when chaos seeks to unravel the fight.
His story whispers the harsh truth:
Valor isn’t seamless glory. It’s pain, sacrifice, and the refusal to fail your brothers.
His sacrifice calls to all who hear it—not to forget, not to silence the scars, but to carry the torch of purpose.
“For if we live, we live unto the Lord; and if we die, we die unto the Lord.” — Romans 14:8
Charles DeGlopper’s fate was sealed on a hellscape fields, but his spirit marches on—invincible, eternal, and just.
To honor him is to remember that freedom is never free; it is forged by men willing to bleed for a cause greater than themselves. Every step away from oblivion begins in a place like La Fière, with a man like DeGlopper facing the storm—alone, unyielding, victorious in sacrifice.
Sources
1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. 1st Infantry Division Association, Big Red One Unit History 3. Department of Defense, Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor Citation 4. Roosevelt, Theodore Jr., Soldier’s Remembrances of Normandy
Related Posts
Jacklyn Lucas, Youngest Marine Awarded the Medal of Honor
John Basilone Guadalcanal Medal of Honor Marine Courage and Sacrifice
John Basilone and the Stand that Saved Guadalcanal in 1942