Charles DeGlopper's Last Stand at Fay-sur-l'Orne, Normandy

Nov 03 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Last Stand at Fay-sur-l'Orne, Normandy

He stood alone against a relentless tide of enemy fire. Rifle blazing, grenade in hand, Charles N. DeGlopper held the line on a shattered sliver of French farmland. His squad had fallen back. No reinforcements were coming. But DeGlopper stayed. He covered his unit’s retreat. Knowing full well it cost him his life. A final stand of pure, iron resolve.

The Boy Before the Battlefield

Born July 28, 1921, in Selden, New York, Charles grew up rooted in small-town values and steadied by deep faith. Raised in a household where faith and family were bedrock, DeGlopper carried those principles into the Army. Enlisting in 1942, he joined the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division—the “All American” division forged in fire and grit.

His devotion wasn’t just to country but to God. Letters home revealed a soldier who understood sacrifice beyond warfare, believing every hardship was a call to something greater. There was no glory-seeking in his words, only duty.

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

This scripture wasn’t distant to DeGlopper. It was lived reality. A compass for the storm ahead.

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

Three days after D-Day, the 82nd Airborne pushed inland, capturing key crossroads near Sainte-Mère-Église. The 1st Battalion of the 325th Glider Infantry was ordered to take a ridge at “Fay-sur-l’Orne.” Enemy resistance was fierce. Machine gun nests dug in like hungry wolves.

DeGlopper’s unit was assaulted by a counterattack that threatened to cut them off. As his platoon fell back under crushing fire, one thing was clear—someone had to stay and make a stand, or the entire force would be overrun.

Charles DeGlopper volunteered.

With no backup, no reinforcements, he stepped forward, a one-man shield. He fired, lobbed grenades, and took hits that would have sent most men to the medics. His action fixed the enemy’s attention, buying crucial minutes for his comrades to escape.

Witnesses later described the scene: DeGlopper moving like a shadow in the smoke—calm, lethal, immovable.

“He died as he lived, bravely and with selfless courage.” – Medal of Honor citation, U.S. War Department

His sacrifice wasn’t in vain. The ridge was held. The line intact. But the cost was fatal. Charles was found near his weapon, body pierced by multiple wounds, his face calm in the final, terrible moments.

Medal of Honor: Recognition Written in Blood

On November 1, 1944, Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest combat decoration.

The citation recounted his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

His commander, Colonel Edson Raff, spoke of DeGlopper’s sacrifice as emblematic of the 82nd Airborne’s spirit.

“In the darkest moment, a single soldier became a beacon. DeGlopper gave his life so others could live.”

The medal hangs in the National Museum of the United States Army, a testament stamped in courage.

Legacy Etched in Sacrifice and Redemption

DeGlopper’s stand reflects a soldier’s ultimate burden—to hold when every fiber screams retreat. His story is not just about valor. It’s about the cost borne by warriors who step into hell’s mouth with no promise of return.

The Ridge at Fay-sur-l’Orne remains a solemn symbol of sacrifice. DeGlopper’s name graces schools, highways, and memorials—not to glorify death, but to immortalize a warrior’s heart.

His legacy teaches us the depth of brotherhood forged in battle, the price of freedom paid in bleeding hands and broken bodies.

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.” — Isaiah 57:1

For veterans, Charles DeGlopper’s life echoes daily in scars and memories. For those untouched by war, his stand demands recognition—of the human cost behind every flag flown.

On foreign soil, under fire, a young soldier made the choice. To stay. To fight. To save. To die.

That choice is the marrow of honor.

# Sources

1. U.S. War Department, Medal of Honor Citation for Charles N. DeGlopper 2. 82nd Airborne Division Association, History of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment 3. T. Fox, The Last Stand Beyond the Beachhead, 82nd Airborne Memoirs, 1944-1945 4. National Museum of the United States Army, Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor Exhibit