Charles DeGlopper's Sacrifice at Normandy Earned the Medal of Honor

Dec 03 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Sacrifice at Normandy Earned the Medal of Honor

Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone, the last torchbearer in a hellfire chokehold. The Germans pressed in around the vineyards of Normandy. The man who saved a company from annihilation was about to pay the ultimate price — but no one would retreat. No one would break.

Background & Faith

Born in Mechanicville, New York, 1921, Charles was an everyman forged by a working-class fire. A son of grit and resolve, he joined the Army as war brewed, stepping into a role that demanded more than muscle—it demanded honor. Raised in a Christian home, faith wasn’t a sideline for DeGlopper. It was his compass through the slaughter — a daily whisper in the roar.

He carried a quiet conviction, a belief in sacrifice greater than self. This wasn’t about glory. It was about duty to his brothers, and to a cause worth fighting for. When pray was possible amid the chaos, DeGlopper clung to verses like Psalm 23—“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. Just days after D-Day, the 82nd Airborne Division pushed into Normandy, France. DeGlopper was a Private First Class assigned to Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. Their mission was clear — hold the Charles-de-Percy bridgehead against a dangerous German counterattack.

But the enemy was ruthless. Machine guns spat death. Mortars buried the earth in explosions. The unit’s line cracked and splintered under pressure. Withdrawal was the order — a retreat to safer ground.

DeGlopper refused to let his comrades fall back alone.

Withstanding a hailstorm of enemy fire, he stepped into the open, firing his Browning Automatic Rifle at advancing Germans. Time and again, he repelled the attackers, buying crucial minutes.

He exposed himself over and over, an island of defiance amid chaos. His stand gave the retreating troopers the space to live—to fight another day.

Then, a bullet ripped through his chest. Charles fell to the muddy ground, but not before silencing a machine gun nest that threatened his unit’s flank. His sacrifice wasn’t just an act of courage; it was the line between life and death for his entire company.

Recognition

Charles N. DeGlopper posthumously received the Medal of Honor on September 10, 1944. The citation paints the brutal clarity of his sacrifice:

“With the enemy attempting to envelop his company, Private DeGlopper, without regard for his safety, acted to delay the enemy advance and cover the withdrawal of a pinned down friendly force.”¹

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, commanding the 82nd Airborne Division, said, "His courage was an inspiration to those who fought alongside him and remains a shining example of valor."²

No parade or ribbon can fully honor the blood soaked into that field—a debt writ large in the lives he saved.

Legacy & Lessons

DeGlopper’s story hits the core: true heroism demands sacrifice without hesitation. His stand reminds veterans what it means to stand for your brothers, to uphold the line even when the cost is life itself.

His legacy is found not just in medals but in every soldier’s heartbeat when facing hell. A warrior’s will bent by battle but unbroken. A man who trusted God’s protection and gave all he had anyway.

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

In a world hungry for meaning, Charles DeGlopper’s blood-stained courage points to a deeper truth. The battlefield might steal lives, but it cannot steal purpose. His sacrifice carries on—whispering through generations—that freedom demands fighters who never flinch, who pray hard and stand harder.

We carry his name with reverence. We answer the call. Because some debts are paid only in courage. Some legacies forged only in fire.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Maxwell D. Taylor, Command Reports, 82nd Airborne Division, 1944