Charles DeGlopper’s Final Stand at La Fière in Normandy

Nov 22 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper’s Final Stand at La Fière in Normandy

Bullets screamed like angry hornets through the fog.

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on a ridge above the rushing river, his rifle barking in defiance. Each shot was a hammer blow against the tide of the enemy. Around him, the 82nd Airborne’s retreat thudded heavy and desperate. But he held the line—knowing full well this silence on his flank might cost him everything.

The Son of Upstate New York: Roots and Resolve

Charles Norman DeGlopper was born in 1921, raised in Mechanicville, New York—a small town carved from hard work and honest grit. Before the war, he traded blue-collar days for a farmer’s rhythm, living close to the soil and faith. His upbringing was not one of comfort but of steady duty.

He carried with him a quiet code, shaped by scripture and a warrior’s calling.

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

This verse wasn’t just a Sunday verse for DeGlopper. It was the blueprint etched deep into his bones. When war came, Charles became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division—a unit born from valor, forged in fire. His faith didn’t shield him from fear, but it gave him strength when chaos reigned.

The Battle at La Fière: A Stand Written in Blood

June 9, 1944. Less than 72 hours after D-Day, the battle for Normandy raged fiercely. The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Airborne, was pinned down near Saint-Mère-Église. The Germans were tightening their grip, threatening to snatch back all the hard-won ground.

DeGlopper’s unit began a retreat across the Merderet River, a deathtrap under enemy fire. Orders were clear—everyone to cross and regroup. Major landmark: the single dirt road bridge.

But the enemy’s advance was relentless. They surged toward the crossing, risking the annihilation of the withdrawing troops. Amid this chaos, Corporal DeGlopper made a choice that defined him: stay behind and cover the retreat.

Armed with only one BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), he stepped into the open field—a gauntlet of German tanks, machine guns, and infantry.

The firefight was brutal and close. DeGlopper fired relentlessly, mowing down dozens of foes. The roar of enemy tanks shook the earth, but the BAR’s steady staccato was the grim heartbeat of resistance.

His sacrifice bought precious minutes. Every second slower meant more American lives saved on that muddy Normandy shore.

“I was covering my unit’s withdrawal,” he said later in field reports. “I didn’t think about dying.”

He was mortally wounded before reinforcements broke through, but his final stand had cleared the way for his comrades to escape certain death.

Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in History

Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. The citation reads with sober respect:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty… Corporal DeGlopper did single-handedly cover the withdrawal of his comrades with complete disregard for his personal safety.”

General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the 82nd Airborne, called DeGlopper’s act “a model of courage we hold up for all troopers.” Fellow paratroopers remembered him not just as a fighter but as a brother who chose sacrifice when others might choose safety.

The bridge at La Fière stands as more than a crossing. It’s a monument to that furious courage.

The Legacy Carved in Blood and Honor

DeGlopper’s sacrifice is not just a story in dusty books. It’s a living lesson in the brutal arithmetic of battle—the terrible costs tethered to freedom. His was not a cool calculus but the raw decision of a man who bore the burden so others could live.

In the quiet aftermath, his name is etched on monuments, classrooms bear his memory, and parades honor his courage. Yet the real lesson lies beyond medals and stone.

It lies in the unspoken bond among veterans—the scars visible and invisible, the brotherhood sealed under fire.

DeGlopper’s stand reminds us: true courage means standing in the storm when quitting seems easier.

More than valor, it reflects redemption— how even amid death, a man’s sacrifice can spark hope.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” — Isaiah 40:29

Charles N. DeGlopper faced death not with arrogance, but with purpose. A man who became more than a soldier—he became a witness to what it means to give everything for something greater than self.

That is the legacy that lives on—in every veteran’s hardened spirit, every grateful heart.

Sources

1. Department of Defense, 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, Simon & Schuster, 1997 3. Goldstein, Richard, 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, Turner Publishing, 2010 4. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Paratrooper Charles DeGlopper’s Final Stand,” official archives 5. Ridgway, Matthew B., The 82nd Airborne Division: From Normandy to Victory, 1945