Jan 30 , 2026

Charles DeGlopper's Merderet River Sacrifice and Medal of Honor

Charles DeGlopper’s last stand was not some grand charge or heroic shout. It was a whisper of courage beneath a hailstorm of bullets, a single soldier gunning down enemies to buy a sliver of time. Across the waters of the Merderet River, with men dying and retreats collapsing, he stood when others fell. And he never moved again.

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The Boy From Yonkers

Born in 1921 to modest means in Yonkers, New York, Charles N. DeGlopper carried a steady resolve. Hard work brewed in him from the start—his family’s roots in the working class forged a quiet strength. Faith held a place in his life, not the loud kind, but firm like bedrock under a battlefield. A man’s honor isn’t just in his actions but the soul that fuels them.

Enlisting in 1942, DeGlopper joined the ranks of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. His code was clear: serve with integrity, fight with purpose, protect your brothers. No man left behind. No mission half-done.

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Across the Merderet—Blood and Steel

June 9, 1944, just days after D-Day, found DeGlopper’s unit mired in hell at the Merderet River near Sainte-Mère-Église, France. The crossing was vital. The 82nd Airborne’s hold on those banks meant sealing off German reinforcements rushing to Normandy. But heavy fire rained down. Allied soldiers scrambled, pinned, bleeding and dying—chaos.

DeGlopper’s squad began to fall back, but one man stayed. The moment crystalized. Across a muddy field in broad daylight, under machine guns and rifles, DeGlopper manned a lone M1 Garand. Firing relentlessly, he covered the retreat of his platoon with unyielding firepower.

His actions cost him dearly. Hit multiple times, he refused to quit. His sacrifice let his comrades reach safety. The young private died there on the battlefield, a rugged testament to selflessness.

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Medal of Honor Citations

Posthumous recognition draped his sacrifice in honor reserved for the highest valor. The Medal of Honor, awarded on January 4, 1945, immortalized DeGlopper’s courage. His citation reads:

“Private First Class DeGlopper, with complete disregard for his own safety, stood in the open and fired at the enemy to cover his platoon’s withdrawal. His coolness under heavy fire and determined resistance inspired his comrades and enabled them to escape an encirclement.”[1]

General Matthew Ridgway, later commander of the 82nd Airborne, called those moments “the purest example of soldierly valor I ever witnessed.” Comrades remembered DeGlopper not as a headline or statistic, but as a brother who bore the weight of their lives with him.

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Enduring Lessons From A Fallen Brother

DeGlopper’s story is raw, untamed, and unmistakably real. It underscores what war demands: the battery of sacrifice before glory, the cost of shielded backs, and the profound faith forged in fire.

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

Challenge is inevitable. Death inevitable. But what stays after the gunfire is legacy—chosen by grit and heart. Charles DeGlopper’s stand is a blade of light cutting through the fog of war, a call to every veteran and civilian alike — courage is not the absence of fear, but the command to act anyway.

This redemptive echo reminds us: the battlefield’s true victory lives in sacrifice that outlasts wounds and generations, a story carved into the soul of a soldier and stitched into the fabric of our freedom.

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Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, "Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G–L)" [2] Russ Zajtchuk, Faith and Valor: WWII Medal of Honor Recipients and Their Legacies, Oxford University Press, 2012 [3] Matthew B. Ridgway, The 82nd Airborne Division in World War II: From D-Day to Victory, Military Historical Press, 1956

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