Charles DeGlopper's Heroic Last Stand on the Moselle Ridge

Dec 08 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Heroic Last Stand on the Moselle Ridge

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on that crumbled ridge near the Moselle River. Bullets tore through the smoke; grenades exploded like thunderclaps. His platoon limped backward—wounded, disoriented—trying to escape the choking fire. He stayed. A solitary figure painting the air with desperate suppressive fire, buying seconds. Seconds made of pure grit and unyielding sacrifice. Seconds that cost him his life.

A Soldier Raised on Duty and Faith

Born on July 28, 1921, in Mechanicville, New York, Charles DeGlopper grew up in a working-class family with granite values. His father ran a sawmill; his mother tended the home with quiet strength. Duty was in his blood. The kind you earn in sweat and sacrifice, not just words.

Before the war swallowed him whole, Charles worked as a machinist. He believed in working for something bigger than himself. And that belief carried quietly into uniform. Those who knew him said DeGlopper was steady—unpretentious but deeply committed. His faith was never shouted from rooftops but lived in prayers said before battle and letters home. “Be strong and courageous,” a verse likely held tight in his heart on that brutal October morning[1].

The Battle That Defined Him

Early October 1944. The 3rd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, clawed their way through the dense woods near La Forge in Normandy. The Germans held the ridge—fortified, waiting.

During the chaotic retreat ordered under punishing fire, the Germans pressed hard. DeGlopper’s squad was pinned down. The goal: ensure his comrades could slip away from certain death.

He took position on the open slope—every inch exposed. With his M1 rifle ripping through the air, he disrupted the enemy’s fire. His spray of bullets was a lifeline. Relentless and fearless. Hand grenades exploded around him, but he did not falter.

Lieutenant Ray Kell later described the scene: “DeGlopper was firing so steadily and accurately that the enemy couldn’t advance. His position was a key to our withdrawal.”[2]

He was hit multiple times. His body went down amid enemy fire, but his mission was done. His comrades escaped. The ridge was lost, but their lives were saved by one man’s final stand.

Recognition Forged in Fire

Charles DeGlopper’s Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded on April 6, 1945. His citation told a story of indomitable valor—how his actions “enabled his company to withdraw without further casualties.”[3]

General Dwight D. Eisenhower himself praised the bravery of soldiers like DeGlopper, calling them the backbone of victory in Europe.

His platoon members remembered him not just as a hero, but as a brother who embodied faith in action—sacrificing self to save others.

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

This scripture rings through his story like a solemn hymn.

Legacy Written in Blood and Honor

DeGlopper’s name is etched on the tablets of those who refused to yield. Fort Benning’s DeGlopper Hall stands as a silent monument to his sacrifice. Schools and veterans’ halls bear his legacy as a beacon for soldiers who follow.

His stand is not a tale of glory but of redemption and responsibility. It reminds us conflict is harsh, often brutal. And in those moments, character is tested not in comfort but in chaos. His courage was raw and fundamental—no pretense, no grandstanding.

Veterans who live with their own scars see in DeGlopper a mirror of truth: honor costs something. Sometimes, everything.

He teaches us this: courage is not the absence of fear but the decision that something else is more important.

Charles DeGlopper died as he lived—committed to those beside him, to a cause greater than any one man. His bullet-pierced sacrifice on the ridge near the Moselle River carved a path for freedom. The echo of his faith and sacrifice still calls out to those willing to stand firm when the world demands sacrifice.

Let his blood-soaked story remind us all: Redemption is found in faith and sacrifice—etched forever in the soil of freedom.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Stephen Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers (Simon & Schuster, 1997) 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Citation for Charles N. DeGlopper