Dec 30 , 2025
Charles DeGlopper’s Normandy Stand That Earned the Medal of Honor
Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone amid a hailstorm of bullets and death, his rifle blazing as his squad slipped behind him. Smoke choked the air. Men screamed. The earth shook with artillery. He held the line to the bitter end—knowing full well he wouldn’t see the dawn.
Blood and Faith Forged in the Foothills
DeGlopper grew up in the quiet hills of upstate New York—a boy shaped by hard soil and a hard faith. Raised on the Christian values of duty and sacrifice, he carried a steadfast belief that every man owed a measure of himself to the greater good. A farmhand turned soldier, he wasn’t the loudest in the room, but he was the type who locked his jaw, kept his word, and didn’t flinch when the fight came.
The warrior’s code isn’t just about courage; it’s about purpose beyond oneself. Charles lived this creed daily.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13
Holding the Line on the Open Fields of Normandy
June 9, 1944—D-Day plus 3. The 16th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Infantry Division, pushed through the mud and chaos around the small French village of Saint-Lô. The enemy dug in hard, machine guns and mortars tearing at every advance.
The 3rd Platoon faced a brutal rappel, forced into retreat under punishing German fire. DeGlopper volunteered for a suicide mission: stay behind, cover the squad’s withdrawal, and hold the enemy off as long as bullets lasted.
He waded into the open field, alone and exposed.
Rifle spitting death, Charles drew their fire, repeatedly.
His relentless defense slowed the German counterattack, buying precious minutes. His comrades scrambled to safety. But the devil’s reckoning came swift. Hit multiple times, he collapsed amid the blood-soaked grass—dying as he saved lives.
Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Time
DeGlopper’s selfless actions earned the Medal of Honor posthumously. His citation reads:
“Pfc. DeGlopper, with utter disregard for his own life, single-handedly covered the withdrawal of his platoon by establishing a one-man defensive position in open terrain… Withering enemy fire raked him continuously, yet he repelled successive attacks until he was mortally wounded."
His lieutenant recalled, “Charlie was quiet, steady—never counted out even when the worst was on us. He was the reason half that platoon lived.”
The Medal was presented to his family, a somber reminder of the price exacted on that field.
The Scars and the Spirit Left Behind
DeGlopper’s legacy is more than the medal pinned to his memory. It’s the light that flickers in every warrior fought to the last breath. His stand symbolized the stark reality veterans know: courage is born in sacrifice, and true honor lies in saving others at your own cost.
He embodied the raw truth—some battles aren’t won by numbers or firepower, but by the heart that refuses to break.
His story jolts the soul—reminding each generation of what it means to march into hell for your brothers, trusting in something greater than fear.
The battlefield takes. But it also gives—an unshakable purpose to the broken, a voice to the fallen.
We carry DeGlopper’s sacrifice like a torch. The same fire that lit his last stand fires us today to face our own wars—be they on distant fields or in the quiet struggles after the guns fall silent.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” — Romans 8:18
Related Posts
Alfred B. Hilton, Medal of Honor Color Bearer at Fort Wagner
Alfred B. Hilton’s Medal of Honor and Valor at Fort Wagner
Alfred B. Hilton and the Fort Wagner flag that inspired a nation