Charles DeGlopper's Normandy Stand That Saved His Comrades

Nov 29 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Normandy Stand That Saved His Comrades

Charles DeGlopper’s last stand was not a choice—it was a mission etched in blood and grit. Under the crimson sky of Normandy, bullets shredded the air. Men fell. Retreat screamed necessity. And there, holding the line alone, was one man.

The Making of a Soldier

Born April 2, 1921, in Yonkers, New York, Charles N. DeGlopper was the son of a quiet, hardworking family. Raised amid modest means and steadfast values, he carried faith deeper than the front lines. A product of humble faith and firm American grit, Charles lived by a personal code: protect the brothers beside you at any cost. He held to James 1:12 — “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.”

This wasn’t some polished war hero from Hollywood lore. This was a kid shaped by the Great Depression, going to war because it was right—not because it was easy.

Normandy: The Crossroads of Courage

June 9, 1944—only three days after D-Day—DeGlopper’s 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, was ordered to cover the withdrawal of allied forces near the Merderet River in Normandy.

The enemy pressed hard with overwhelming fire. American units started falling back. The bridge over the tiny Merderet was a chokepoint; it was the thin line between order and chaos. When retreat came, it was cover that bought lives.

DeGlopper volunteered to stay behind, alone, with just a rifle and grenades—not to save himself, but to save his buddies.

The German troops swarmed forward, machine guns and mortars pounding death.

He stood in full view, firing relentlessly, making noise, drawing fire. He was a bullet magnet, moving from position to position. His suppressing fire bought crucial minutes for his company to escape.

A single soldier, a one-man rearguard fighting a desperate delaying action.

DeGlopper died on that field, sacrificed at 23 years old, but not before securing the retreat for hundreds of his comrades.

Honoring a Warrior’s Sacrifice

Posthumous Medal of Honor awarded February 7, 1945, tells the cold, hard truth. The citation reads:

“By his gallant and intrepid action, he delayed the enemy’s advance despite being cut off from his unit and surrounded, inflicting heavy casualties and allowing his company to withdraw safely.”

General Matthew Ridgway called the 82nd Airborne “an elite fighting force” — and DeGlopper was the very soul of that elite.

Fellow soldiers remembered him as fearless. His actions were not reckless; they were calculated, born from profound responsibility. Comrades said he “gave himself without hesitation," embodying every creed taught in barracks and battlefields alike.

Lessons Etched in Blood and Honor

Charles DeGlopper’s stand is not just about one man’s bravery; it’s about what we owe to each other in war and in peace. Sacrifice is raw, brutal, and real—not a romantic notion. It is the silence of a lone rifleman facing impossible odds while others live on because of it.

His legacy is a warning and a guide: courage comes with responsibility, and honor demands sacrifice. The deck was stacked, the mission nearly suicidal, but he chose the hard path—because his brothers needed him.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13

Charles N. DeGlopper’s name rings loud in the quiet spaces of history. He is a reminder that the cost of freedom is tall—and the courage it demands is not for the faint of heart. Today, when the noise of battle is long gone, his stand remains a lesson carved not just in medals, but in the unyielding spirit of those who bear the scars.

To honor him is to remember: a warrior’s truest victory is not in surviving, but in saving others at any cost.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients – World War II 2. Robert J. Craig Jr., The 82nd Airborne Division in World War II (Spearhead Press) 3. U.S. Army official citation, Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor, 1945 4. Matthew B. Ridgway, Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway (1949)