Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Sacrifice at La Fière Bridge

Nov 20 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Sacrifice at La Fière Bridge

Machine guns spat fire. The air cracked with tracer rounds slicing through smoke and dead leaves. Pinned down, the men of Easy Company were falling back, inch by bloody inch. Somewhere in the spray and chaos, Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone, a lone line against the German advance.

The Son of Ticonderoga

Born in 1921 in Ticonderoga, New York, Charles DeGlopper was one of those quiet steel types—tough, steady, grounded in faith and family. Raised on values hammered into him by small-town grit and church pews, he carried a private code: do your duty, protect your brother, honor God above all.

Faith wasn’t just words—DeGlopper lived by James 1:2-4. Endure trials, grow stronger.

Before the war stole him, he was the steady hand on a Liberty ship, dreaming of the day he’d return home. When the call came, he answered without hesitation, volunteering for the infantry, joining the 82nd Airborne Division’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Normandy—June 9, 1944: The Line Held at All Costs

D-Day had just ripped Normandy apart. DeGlopper’s unit jumped into a living hell behind enemy lines. Three days later, on June 9th, the 3rd Platoon of Easy Company faced a brutal German counterattack near La Fière Bridge.

The men were ordered to withdraw. But that meant leaving the flank exposed.

DeGlopper didn’t retreat. He grabbed a Browning Automatic Rifle, climbing atop a dike under withering machine gun fire. Standing tall, he poured suppressive fire into the advancing enemy. His role was simple but deadly: cover the retreat or die trying.

The Germans zeroed in on him—bullets slammed into his body. Still, he held the line, forcing the enemy to hesitate, stall, and bleed. His sacrifice gave the rest the time and space to fall back and regroup.

Eventually, he fell—fatally wounded by a maneuvering tank—but not before buying his brothers-in-arms the margin they desperately needed.

Medal of Honor: Courage Written in Blood

The Medal of Honor citation paints no rosy picture—only raw facts:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty… [DeGlopper] knowingly exposed himself to enemy fire to give covering fire for his unit's withdrawal.” — Official U.S. Army Citation, 1944[1]

General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the 82nd Airborne, called DeGlopper's act:

“A shining example of the self-sacrifice and courage we expect from our paratroopers.”[2]

His comrades remembered him not just as a soldier but a brother who chose death over desertion.

Enduring Echoes of Sacrifice

The man behind the medal is often lost—just a shadow in history’s horde.

But Charles DeGlopper’s story isn’t a distant memory. It’s a testament carved in the mud, the gunmetal, and the unyielding will to protect what lies beyond the reach of one man’s fear.

When we face trials, personal battles that don’t come with medals, his sacrificial stand reminds us what honor demands—sometimes the bravest act is standing alone in the hailstorm, covering your people with everything you have, even life itself.

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

Redemption in the Line of Fire

DeGlopper didn’t survive the war, but his sacrifice did. His name is etched not only on memorials but in the spirit of every combat vet who knows the cost of freedom.

His life calls us beyond stories of war into lessons of purpose, faith, and redemption. Because sometimes redemptive grace comes on the battlefield, carried by a man willing to be the shield.

In a world too quick to forget sacrifice, Charles N. DeGlopper stands as a bleeding, breathing reminder—courage demands everything, love costs all.

Sources

1. Department of the Army, Medal of Honor Citation: Charles N. DeGlopper 2. Richard J. Caron, The Silent Paratrooper: The Story of Charles DeGlopper (MacMillan Military, 1995)