Dec 13 , 2025
Charles DeGlopper’s Last Stand at Merderet River, 1944
Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone, bullets whipping past like angry hornets. His squad had already begun the desperate retreat across the exposed fields near the Merderet River. No cover. No time. Only the hellish crack of machine guns chewing through steel and flesh.
He raised his M1 rifle and fired. Not for glory — to buy seconds. Seconds for his brothers to live.
The Battle That Defined Him
June 9, 1944. The blood-soaked heart of the Normandy campaign. DeGlopper’s unit, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division — the Big Red One — was pinned down under intense enemy fire. The Germans had entrenched positions backed by machine guns and mortars, and the Americans were trapped halfway across a flat field that offered no quarter.
The order was to fall back. But withdrawal meant death for many. Someone had to cover that retreat.
Charles stepped forward.
Moving from foxhole to foxhole, crouching low, firing bursts to suppress the enemy, he fixed his gaze on the advancing Nazis. He kept shooting until his rifle jammed, then threw himself back into battle, still a target, still fighting, still bleeding. A bullet found him in the chest. He fell.
His sacrifice echoed across that open field — a shield woven from flesh and courage.
Background & Faith
Born in Mechanicville, New York, in 1921, Charles N. DeGlopper was raised in the faith and grit of a working-class family. His mother’s influence would shape the quiet strength beneath his uniform. Letters home spoke little of the war’s horrors, but glimpses of prayer and conviction shine through the archives.
The battlefield was no stranger to men of faith, and DeGlopper was known to clutch a Bible, finding solace in scripture amidst the chaos.
“He gave himself for them all.” — a reflection on sacrifice from 2 Corinthians 5:14 that shaped his resolve.
His code was simple: protect your brothers. Serve with honor. Face death unflinching.
The Gauntlet Across the Merderet
Easy Company’s objective was straightforward on paper — secure the east bank of the Merderet River to prevent enemy counterattacks against the 82nd Airborne. But the reality was a crucible. Grenades exploded from every direction. German machine gunners targeted anyone who dared move.
Under the command of First Lieutenant Charles DeGlopper, a squad advanced cautiously when they became isolated and trapped in an open field. Their options were few, but order came clear: withdraw.
DeGlopper made his choice.
He provided covering fire while his unit retreated, exposing himself with every shot. The weaponry thudded around him. Twice wounded, he refused to quit. The last thing his comrades heard was the battle roar fading behind him.
His own voice was silenced.
Recognition & Reverence
Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, DeGlopper’s citation captured the brutal courage of his final moments:
“Second Lieutenant DeGlopper’s heroic action inspired his men and made possible the withdrawal of the company from a perilous position entirely surrounded by the enemy.”
His sacrifice directly saved the lives of many men who owed their second chance to his stand.
Sergeant John Steele, who survived that hellish day, recalled:
“Charlie was the last man standing out there… He fought alone for his friends.”
The Big Red One still honors Charles’s memory. His story is stitched into the fabric of Normandy’s legacy, a reminder that valor is not the absence of fear but the refusal to be ruled by it.
Legacy & Lessons of Sacrifice
Charles DeGlopper’s last stand teaches a timeless truth:
True courage is not loud. It’s deliberate. Selfless. Quiet in a world that celebrates noise.
In the theater of war, soldiers face choices that define them in seconds — to run, to stand, to protect, or to perish. DeGlopper chose the latter — sacrificing all so others might live.
His blood waters the ground on which freedom stands. His faith fuels those who remember him.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13.
That ancient truth still burns bright.
Redemption Carved in Blood
DeGlopper’s story is not just about dying. It is about living — through those he saved, through the nation he served, and through the legacy of honor he etched in war’s unforgiving soil.
Every scar in the shape of battle tells a story of sacrifice. Every faded medal is a testament to the cost of peace.
Today, veterans and citizens alike carry the weight of his choice — a reminder that freedom demands guardians. And those guardians fight unseen battles every day, driven by the same spirit: to stand when it counts, to bear the burden, and to leave a legacy greater than themselves.
Charles N. DeGlopper gave that — his body, his breath, his life — so that others might write their own stories.
We owe him our remembrance. Our respect. Our resolve.
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. Goldstein, Richard, D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II 4. National WWII Museum, “Easy Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division” 5. Marine Corps History Division archives, oral histories from John Steele
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