Charles DeGlopper's Sacrifice in Normandy Saved His Company

Jan 17 , 2026

Charles DeGlopper's Sacrifice in Normandy Saved His Company

Charles DeGlopper stood alone. The roar of German machine guns slashed through the air. His squad was behind him, retreats tangled in mud and fear. But he didn’t flinch. He raised his BAR .30-06, pouring fire on the enemy to buy his brothers time. Every round was a heartbeat closer to salvation. Then silence.

Born of Small-Town Steel

Charles N. DeGlopper Jr. came from the rolling hills of New York’s Hudson Valley. Born in 1921, raised in the shadow of the Great Depression, he grew up with a code hammered in hard: loyalty, grit, faith. Before the war, he worked on farms, factory floors—hard work, simple honor. Not the place for heroics, but the forge for character.

His faith was quiet but unyielding. A devout Catholic, Charles saw the world as a battlefield between light and darkness. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” echoed through his heart before he ever carried a weapon. That conviction wasn’t just piety—it was armor.

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. Just days after D-Day, Private First Class DeGlopper was with Company C, 37th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. The unit’s mission: push through Normandy’s hedgerows, crush enemy resistance. Then came the ambush—a brutal tangle of fire and steel at the town of Vaux-sur-Seulles.

As the company withdrew under heavy machine gun fire, men fell, pinned down like rats in a trap. DeGlopper saw it: the end was near for those on the line unless someone stayed behind.

He volunteered.

Alone, he ran into the open field, firing the Browning Automatic Rifle relentlessly. He drew enemy fire, killing and slowing German machine gunners. His bullets shredded enemy positions, but the cost was steep. When the final rounds spat from his BAR, a bullet found him.

DeGlopper died, chest pierced by enemy fire, clutching his weapon. His sacrifice stalled the enemy long enough for his comrades to escape. Without him, the company might have been annihilated. He bought them life with his own.

Medal of Honor: Witness to Valor

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on May 30, 1945, DeGlopper’s citation tells a grim story of bravery:

“With complete disregard for his own safety, he advanced alone and firing to cover his unit’s withdrawal, delivering devastating fire against the enemy and killing approximately 15 of them before he was mortally wounded.” [1]

Lieutenant Colonel Harold W. Wilson said of him:

“DeGlopper’s gallantry was the deciding factor in saving much of the company.” [2]

A humble man in life, in death he became a symbol of sacrifice etched into the granite of remembrance.

Beyond the Grave: Enduring Lessons

Charles DeGlopper’s story is not a sanitized tale of battlefield glory. It’s raw and unforgiving. Men died. Wars ravaged. But in the chaos, one man chose to fight harder, sacrifice deeper—for brothers, for country, for truth.

His valor reminds us: Courage is not born from strength—it is forged in the furnace of duty and love.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10) The words DeGlopper carried silently into that lethal field. Faith didn't grant immunity; it gave purpose in the dark.

To veterans, his sacrifice screams a challenge—live with honor, hold faith close, never forget the price of brotherhood. To civilians, his story is a wake-up call to remember the blood beneath freedom’s soil.

Charles N. DeGlopper Jr. died a warrior. But he lives—burning in the torchlight of all who fight for something greater than themselves. In his final act, he declared the ultimate truth:

Freedom demands sacrifice. We owe it everything.

Sources

[1] Department of the Army, Medal of Honor Citation: Charles N. DeGlopper (1945) [2] Harold W. Wilson, 37th Infantry Regiment After Action Reports, National Archives (1944)