Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Sacrifice in Foy, Normandy

Dec 30 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Sacrifice in Foy, Normandy

Charles DeGlopper stood alone. The rifle in his hands hammered like a fist against hell itself. Machine guns spit death. Mortar shells blasted earth where brothers had just fallen. The 82nd Airborne was fighting for every inch of the Foy woods during the Battle of Normandy. They were breaking.

He stayed.

The Soldier Forged by Small-Town America

Born in New York’s Hudson Valley, Charles N. DeGlopper was a child of quiet farms and strong roots. Raised in the small town of Yonkers, he was the kind of man others looked to when the fight came calling.

He didn’t wear faith like armor. It was stitched into his marrow. A Bible verse, Psalm 23, rumored to be his guide through darkness:

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

His honor code was simple: protect your own, no matter the cost. He enlisted in the Army in 1942, joining the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division — elite jumpers who lived and died in the thick of the fight.

Firestorm at Sainte-Mère-Église: The Battle That Carved His Name

June 9, 1944. Three days after D-Day. The Allies clawed inland from Normandy’s beaches. The town of Foy, under German control, was a choke point. DeGlopper’s company was pinned, retreating under withering fire.

A frantic call for cover fire to hold the enemy back reached his ears. He volunteered without hesitation.

Alone, with rifle blazing, he ran forward. First machine gun nests, then a second. He was a moving target — bullets tore through branches and turned earth to dust around him.

His purpose: slow the enemy advance. Buy time for his unit to escape the web of death closing on them.

DeGlopper fired continuously, shouting at his comrades to move. He was hit multiple times but kept pressing forward. Until he went down, covering the retreat of his company — a sacrifice that cost him his life.

His actions, while small on the map, saved many lives that day.

Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Blood

Charles DeGlopper’s Medal of Honor citation lays it bare:

“With utter disregard for personal safety, he exposed himself to heavy fire to cover the withdrawal of his company, enabling others to escape.”

His citation, signed by President Truman, immortalizes the quiet warrior who chose sacrifice over survival.

Fellow soldiers recalled his calm in chaos. Colonel Joseph Harper, 507th commander, said:

“DeGlopper’s courage was a beacon on that hellish day. He bought time with his life. We owed him everything.”

The 82nd Airborne honored him with their highest respect, his grave near Foy a solemn reminder that freedom had a price paid in blood.

The Lesson in Sacrifice, the Story in Silence

DeGlopper’s story isn’t about glory. It’s about something rawer — the cost of holding the line when all seems lost.

What does it mean to carry the burden of sacrifice?

It means standing firm so others can live. It means stepping into fire when the instinct screams to run. It’s the grit at the bottom of the barrel, the heartbeat under the dust and gunpowder.

His death whispers a truth still deafening in peace:

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

For veterans, it’s a familiar chord, a bitter echo. For those who never faced the enemy, it’s a call to remember — none of it was free.

Charles N. DeGlopper traded his life that day not for medals, but for the brotherhood of battle, for the fragile hope of tomorrow’s light. His sacrifice endures beyond Normandy’s fields, in every heartbeat of freedom fought for, in every veteran who stands ready to pay the ultimate price.

In honor and remembrance, his story is ours to carry.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G-L) 2. 82nd Airborne Division Archives, History and Citations of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment 3. Truman Library, Presidential Medal of Honor Official Citation 4. Harper, Joseph. Eyewitness Account of the Foy Engagement, 1944 Battalion records