Charles DeGlopper's sacrifice at Normandy earned the Medal of Honor

Jan 19 , 2026

Charles DeGlopper's sacrifice at Normandy earned the Medal of Honor

Charles DeGlopper stood alone on the ridge, bullets ripping through the summer air, screams and smoke choking the valley below. His squad was pulling back, caught in a deadly net. Without orders, without hesitation, DeGlopper wrenched his rifle to his shoulder and fired. Not just to fight. To buy time. To bleed the space between death and survival for his brothers-in-arms. He stood a wall — a single man against a tidal wave.

Roots in Honor and Faith

Born in Greenville, New York, Charles N. DeGlopper was no stranger to hard work and quiet faith. Raised in a humble farming family, discipline and determination shaped the marrow of his bones. A devout Christian, his spiritual footing was as much armor as the M1 garand on his shoulder. DeGlopper believed every man owed his dues to something higher than himself — a calling to protect, to sacrifice. His letters home were filled with scripture and resolve, not bravado.

He carried Proverbs 27:17 in his heart: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Every friend, every platoon mate, was a bond forged in fire and faith.

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

DeGlopper landed in France three days after D-Day, part of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. The Allies were grinding forward; each inch cost in blood. On June 9, near La Fière Causeway, the German counterattack pinned Company “C” in a deadly trap.

As the squad pulled back under withering fire, DeGlopper saw the gap that would shatter their line. He volunteered to stay behind. Alone, he fired his Browning automatic rifle into German positions. He was the eyes, the shield, the sacrifice. One soldier recalled, “Charlie was like a rock. There was no way we were getting out without him.”

Enemy bullets tore into him again and again, but DeGlopper kept firing until he fell — his body a barrier between death and his men’s retreat. He died that day, June 9, 1944 — 19 years old, but a giant among warriors.

Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Blood

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, DeGlopper’s citation is stark and piercing — a monument to selfless courage:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty... He covered the withdrawal of his platoon by maintaining a one-man defense against a superior enemy force... His actions enabled his comrades to reorganize and repel the attack."

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, commander of the 82nd Airborne, said of DeGlopper:

"A soldier who gave the fullest measure of devotion to duty, without thought for self."

This was no scripted heroism. It was grit. It was the raw, unvarnished truth of combat—the brutal calculus of sacrifice when a man chooses others over himself.

Legacy: The Cost and Grace of Sacrifice

DeGlopper’s stand echoes beyond Normandy’s fields. It is part of the sacred ledger of those who laid down their lives so freedom’s price wouldn’t ravage the innocent. His name graces a post office in his hometown, a bridge in France, and memorials in Fort Bragg — symbols of a debt repaid by blood and honor.

His story is for every soldier who has ever stood between chaos and salvation, for every family who has paid the bitter toll of war.

True valor is not the absence of fear, but the choice to act despite it. True courage is not loud, but steady like DeGlopper’s rifle fire on that ridge—unyielding.

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

Charles N. DeGlopper did not just die on that ridge. He lived there, forever. In the weary eyes of veterans, in the grateful hearts of a free nation. His sacrifice is a whisper, a lesson, a challenge — to stand firm, to fight hard, and to never forget the cost of our freedom.