Jan 08 , 2026

Charles DeGlopper’s Last Stand at Normandy Saved His Company

All hell broke loose, but he was the last man standing between death and his brothers.

Charles N. DeGlopper held the line while fire rained, machine guns spat death, and the earth swallowed the brave. He didn’t falter. Despite being alone, wounded, and cut off, DeGlopper fired relentlessly to cover his unit’s retreat. His sacrifice carved a path to freedom at Riverside Bridge.

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Roots of Steel and Spirit

Born in New York City, 1921, DeGlopper's upbringing was humble but firm—raised in a working-class family with a backbone forged by street smarts and hard morals. He enlisted in the Army in 1942, answering the call not with prideful bravado but with quiet resolve.

Faith wasn’t just a Sunday thing for Charles. It was a daily armor. His letters home spoke of Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.” That verse wasn’t just words—it was the bedrock of courage when steel clashed and men fell.

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The Battle That Defined Him: Normandy, June 9, 1944

D-Day was over. The 82nd Airborne Division was fighting to hold footholds in Normandy. On the morning of June 9th, DeGlopper’s unit, Company C of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, found itself pinned down near the La Fière causeway leading to Ste. Mere Eglise.

Enemy forces had fortified positions across the flooded river. Withdrawal was ordered because advancing was a deathtrap. But retreat meant leaving his comrades exposed.

DeGlopper rose. Alone, he moved forward under withering mortar and small arms fire, firing his BAR—Browning Automatic Rifle—until his ammunition was spent. Every burst was a bullet feeding the desperate hope of survival for the rest.

Witnesses say his figure was silhouetted against explosions, a lone blaze refusing to die.

His fire slowed the enemy advance long enough for his men to escape across the bridge. But the price was steep. DeGlopper died on that muddy embankment, a hero who gave everything to save others.

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Hero’s Honors: The Medal of Honor

Posthumous Medal of Honor awarded October 19, 1944.

The citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... By his intrepid action, he enabled his company to withdraw across a causeway under fire.”

Lieutenant Colonel John Looney, who witnessed the action, recalled,

“His courage inspired every man in that company. He was a warrior in the truest sense.”

DeGlopper’s sacrifice stands alongside the most heroic tales of the 82nd Airborne—men who fought in the crucible of Normandy with relentless grit.

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Legacy Written in Blood and Honor

Charles DeGlopper’s story is not just a footnote in dusty archives. It is a living testament to sacrifice etched in the soil of battle and in the hearts of those left behind. He was a man who knew his duty went beyond self—who understood that leadership often means standing alone, bearing the enemy’s wrath to buy time for others.

His grave in Normandy is a sacred ground for weary warriors who come to remember what it means to give all without hesitation.

The battlefield does not forgive the faint-hearted.

But DeGlopper teaches us that sometimes the greatest redemption comes from laying down your life so others may live.

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

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Charles N. DeGlopper’s final fight was brutal, last, and perfect in its courage.

He bled so brothers could breathe.

And because of men like DeGlopper, this country’s story is one of sacrifice writ large, of honor forged in hellfire—and of hope carried forward by those who refuse to leave a man behind.

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