Oct 02 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Normandy Last Stand with the 82nd Airborne

Charles DeGlopper stood alone in a hailstorm of bullets, smoke swallowing the valley below. Around him, men scrambled—wounded, terrified, desperate to break enemy lines. He stayed put. He fired. He breathed sacrifice. The solemn echo of his rifle was the shield that bought his brothers their breath to retreat.

No man left behind, no ground given without a fight.

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A Soldier Forged in Brooklyn

Charles N. DeGlopper came from Yonkers, New York—a city of grit, blue collars, and unyielding faith. Raised in a family that valued honor above ease, he carried the scriptural words of Romans in his pocket: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” His faith was quiet but steel-forged, guiding his every step.

Drafted into the 82nd Airborne Division's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, DeGlopper wasn’t the loudest voice, but he was the steady hand. His resolve didn’t come from bravado but from a deep code: protect your comrades. Stand fast. Sacrifice yourself for the many.

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

The skies over Normandy still smoked from the D-Day invasion, but the fight was far from over. DeGlopper and his squad were ordered to cover his unit’s withdrawal across the perilous Merderet River. The enemy was relentless—machine guns clipped through the air, grenades ripped the earth, and men fell screaming.

DeGlopper volunteered to stay behind on a hill, exposed and isolated. His mission: keep the Germans pinned down so his platoon could retreat and regroup. He fired his Browning Automatic Rifle with unyielding precision. Each burst was a promise: “Hold the line.”

He was wounded, multiple times. But he kept shooting.

An enemy sniper’s bullet cut DeGlopper down, bleeding to death alone on that hill—his last stand bought his platoon time, saved lives.

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Medal of Honor for Courage Beyond Death

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on December 7, 1944, his citation speaks to raw, brutal valor:

“He maintained his position, firing effectively and holding off the enemy until he was mortally wounded, thus enabling the platoon to withdraw successfully.”

General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the 82nd Airborne, described DeGlopper’s courage as “a shining example of fearless valor.” Fellow paratroopers remembered him simply as a man who went beyond the call. Not seeking glory—only survival for his brothers.

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The Blood-Stained Lesson

DeGlopper’s sacrifice is more than a battlefield legend. It is a reminder that the cost of freedom is paid in blood and courage.

In his death, he conveyed an eternal truth: the warrior’s measure is not in his survival but his sacrifice. The line between life and death is thin, but between courage and cowardice there is no margin.

His story is etched in the annals of the 82nd Airborne, but it echoes universally:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

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A Legacy Written in Valor and Redemption

Charles DeGlopper’s hill in Normandy remains hallowed ground. He gave everything so others could live. He bore the ultimate scar: death in battle, but in his sacrifice, there is redemption.

For veterans, his story is a solemn mirror of our own struggle—we fight with every scrap of strength not for fame, but for the man beside us. For civilians, his story demands more than gratitude—it calls for remembrance.

The helmet, the rifle, the blood—these are not relics. They are testimonials to a faith in something greater than self.

Charles DeGlopper’s last fight was not lost in vain.

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Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II 2. Robert Johnson, The 82nd Airborne in World War II (Stackpole Books) 3. Official Citation, Medal of Honor, Charles N. DeGlopper, December 7, 1944

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