Charles DeGlopper's Stand at La Fiere That Earned the Medal of Honor

Dec 11 , 2025

Charles DeGlopper's Stand at La Fiere That Earned the Medal of Honor

Charles DeGlopper stood alone on a crumbling ridge, bullets ripping past like angry hornets. The only sound louder than gunfire was the frantic pounding of his heart. Behind him, his squad was retreating, lives hanging in the balance. He had one mission: hold the line until every last man could live to fight another day.

The Making of a Soldier

Born in 1921, Charles N. DeGlopper was a small-town kid from Dunkirk, New York, who grew up with a steady faith and a solid work ethic. Raised in a modest household, his grounding came from church and community—a foundation of selflessness and quiet resolve. He carried himself with the humble grit of a man who understood service was not a choice; it was a responsibility.

Faith wasn’t just a Sunday ritual for Charles. It shaped his every step, his every decision. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13) was no abstract scripture. It was his creed.

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. The skies still bore scars from D-Day. The 82nd Airborne Division, DeGlopper’s unit, was pinned down near the town of La Fière in Normandy. The enemy was entrenched, machine guns slashing at every movement, artillery punching craters in the earth. The order was clear: fall back. But the hedgerows were a death trap.

DeGlopper was with Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. As his comrades fought to retreat across a narrow causeway under intense German fire, chaos reigned. Men were falling. Blood mingled with mud and rain. No one could cross without volunteers covering the way.

Without hesitation, PFC DeGlopper rose and positioned himself exposed on the causeway’s edge. His weapon swept enemy foxholes, drawing the unforgiving fire. Waves of bullets shattered the ground at his feet. Yet he stood—unmoving, unyielding. Every burst gave his brothers precious seconds to escape a slow death.

His action was not reckless bravado, but calculated sacrifice. Every shot fired, every breath drawn, was a final act of protection. When the last man had crossed, he was cut down in a hailstorm of bullets.

Recognition Born in Blood

Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest tribute to valor. His citation speaks plainly:

“Pfc. DeGlopper, by his intrepid courage and self-sacrifice, contributed materially to his company’s withdrawal and the establishment of a foothold on the enemy shore.”

General Matthew Ridgway, legendary leader of the 82nd, regarded DeGlopper’s stand as a defining moment of sacrifice intrinsic to airborne warfare. Fellow paratroopers called him a “true sentinel,” a man who bore their souls on his shoulders for a handful of precious minutes.

His name now stands etched at the Normandy American Cemetery, a permanent scar in the earth—so that we do not forget the boy who became the shield.

Legacy Beyond the Battlefield

DeGlopper’s story doesn’t end with medals. It echoes beyond Medal of Honor citations. His sacrifice speaks in the language of legacy: courage carried quietly when no one watches, the sacred duty of covering your comrades with your own body, the willingness to trade life for brotherhood.

In war, we see the worst and the best of humanity. Charles chose the best. His life reminds veterans and civilians alike that real courage is not the absence of fear, but obedience to a higher call.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities...” (Ephesians 6:12)

War is hell—but within that hell, there is honor. There is redemption. There is a cost we’re called to pay—to guard freedom’s fragile flame.

The ridge where Charles fell is quiet now, but the ground remembers. So must we. Every veteran who steps forward carries a portion of DeGlopper’s spirit: unflinching, sacrificial, eternal.

May the legacy of Charles N. DeGlopper remind us all that freedom is soaked in the blood of those who stood in the gap.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II – Charles N. DeGlopper 2. 82nd Airborne Division Archives, Battle of Normandy: La Fière Causeway Action 3. Rendezvous with Destiny, Matthew Ridgway, 1956 4. American Battle Monuments Commission, Normandy American Cemetery records