Charles DeGlopper's Normandy stand that earned the Medal of Honor

Feb 18 , 2026

Charles DeGlopper's Normandy stand that earned the Medal of Honor

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on that ridge, facing a hailstorm of enemy bullets. His squad had already fallen back. The line was breaking. But he stayed. One man. Holding hell at bay.

The thunder was deafening. The smoke thick. Every heartbeat a prayer not to go down in vain.

The Young Soldier and His Faith

Born March 2, 1921, in Mechanicville, New York, Charles grew up a regular American kid with a strong sense of duty. Farm roots and small-town grit taught him the meaning of sacrifice.

At age 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, answering a call few dared face. He was a private in Company C, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division—the "Big Red One."

Somewhere in the chaos, faith anchored him. Friends whispered that Psalm 23 ran in his veins:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

His was the quiet strength of a man fully resolved that his life was no longer his own.

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. Normandy. Just three days after D-Day. The 16th Infantry was locked in a deadly fight near the village of La Fière. The Germans were dug in, brutal and relentless.

As his company withdrew under withering fire, Private DeGlopper volunteered to cover their retreat. Alone, he dug his heels into a narrow ridge, rifle blazing.

For nearly ten minutes, he pinned down enemy troops aiming to encircle his comrades. Machine gun fire stitched the air. Every step backward for the company came at the price of every breath he drew forward.

At one point, only three rounds remained in his M1 Garand. He fired them all, reloaded under fire, and kept going, a one-man wall against the storm.

Then, struck down—fatally wounded—he fell where he had stood his ground.

His sacrifice spared his men from being overrun. It bought precious time that saved lives at a cost that only bravery can measure.

Honors Earned in Blood

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, DeGlopper’s citation reads with sober reverence:

“With relentless determination, he covered the withdrawal of his company and was mortally wounded while gallantly fighting alone.”

Commanders and comrades remembered him for that day and beyond. Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe called his act “a shining example of selfless valor.”

Private First Class Henry Kingsbury, one of the men saved, later said,

“Without that bulletstorm he held back, half of us wouldn’t have made it out alive.”

The battlefield had taken Charles’s life, but not his legacy. Not his story.

The Blood-Stained Lessons

DeGlopper’s stand reminds us of sacrifice in its rawest form—not the glory but the unseen cost. A single man facing impossible odds, choosing the pain of sacrifice over the chaos of retreat.

This is the grit all veterans know—the scars carried far beyond the battlefield. It is faith in something greater than self.

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

His courage is not just history. It is a call to every soldier, every citizen, who understands that freedom demands blood and holding the line when all seems lost.

Even after the war, his name fresh on the lips of those who owe their lives to him, Charles DeGlopper’s story is carved into the enduring heart of valor. In the smoke and shadow of Normandy’s cursed fields, his stand is a bloodied whisper speaking of grit, grace, and redemption.

He didn’t survive to tell the tale. But his sacrifice saves us still.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. 1st Infantry Division Archives, The Big Red One in Normandy (2004) 3. Military Times Hall of Valor Project, Charles N. DeGlopper Citation 4. Ambrose, Stephen E., Citizen Soldiers (1997) 5. Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Citation for Charles N. DeGlopper