Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Last Stand on La Fière Bridge

Dec 05 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Last Stand on La Fière Bridge

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on a muddy ridge, the enemy’s bullets digging trenches around him. His rifle barked defiantly amid the hellstorm—a lone warrior against a tide. Every round fired was a heartbeat sacrificed to keep his brothers alive. The smoke choked the air. The ground shook with mortars. He never wavered. His final stand, a wall of fury between death and retreat.

The Quiet Soldier From New York

Born in Malta, New York, 1921. Blue-collar roots, the kind tempered by honest labor and the watchful eyes of family faith. Charlie was no legend before the war. Just a guy who understood hard work, duty, and the weight of loyalty.

Raised in a devoutly Christian household, his belief anchored him. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 echoed not just as scripture but in every fiber of his being.

Joining the 82nd Airborne Division, Charles carried more than his rifle. He bore a code: protect your own, no matter the cost. This steel resolve led him to France in 1944, amidst one of the darkest chapters of WWII.

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. Just days after D-Day. Somewhere near the village of La Fière, the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment found itself pinned by fierce German counterattacks.

As his unit started a dangerous withdrawal across an exposed bridge, DeGlopper made a brutal choice: cover the retreat alone.

Under relentless machine-gun and sniper fire, Charlie stood against the enemy’s advance. Bullets sliced the air; men fell around him. But he stayed on that bridge, firing single-handedly to hold back the deadly surge.

He knew every second gained was a life preserved. He knew this ordeal would be his last—he died there, shot multiple times. Yet his sacrifice let his platoon escape annihilation.

The Medal of Honor citation awards him “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty.” His action “allowed the surrounded battalion to withdraw without loss of critical weaponry and personnel.”[1]

Honoring a Brother in Arms

General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the 82nd Airborne, called DeGlopper’s act “the purest form of heroism—selfless beyond imagination.”

Sergeants, privates alike, remembered him as the man who stood when all else fled, the voice of courage when fear screamed. His story passed from lips to lips in barracks and mess halls.

“He was the last man on that bridge. He held the line because he loved his brothers.”—Staff Sergeant John Phillips, 505th PIR

The Medal of Honor, presented posthumously by President Truman on December 19, 1944, cemented his place among America’s finest.

The Lasting Weight of Valor

Charles DeGlopper’s fight was measured not by the number of enemy killed but by the lives saved—a transaction of sacrifice against survival.

His legacy is carved in that bloody moment on the bridge. A reminder that sometimes the fiercest battle lies in standing alone, buying time with your own blood and bones.

In the dark theatre of war, where survival often tempts with selfish instinct, Charlie’s brand of sacrifice echoes like thunder: Love is action in the face of death.

To veterans wrestling with their ghosts, and civilians seeking meaning in war’s chaos, his story whispers a brutal hope: Courage is costly, but never wasted.

“He gave his tomorrow so others might have theirs.” — Owen Army

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed also are those who stand between life and death, choosing sacrifice over surrender.

Charles N. DeGlopper’s name is tattooed in the ledger of those who answered that call — bloodied but unbroken, forever standing guard.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, "Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G-L)" 2. 82nd Airborne Division Archives, "The Battle at La Fière" 3. Truman Library, Medal of Honor Ceremony Transcript, December 19, 1944 4. John Phillips, Brothers in Arms: Voices of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1998