Charles N. DeGlopper and the Normandy Last Stand That Saved His Squad

Jan 17 , 2026

Charles N. DeGlopper and the Normandy Last Stand That Saved His Squad

He stood alone on the ridge, bullets slicing through the smoke-choked air, his body the last line between death and escape. Charles N. DeGlopper didn’t hesitate. With every breath, every bullet chambered into his rifle, he bought time for his brothers to retreat. His blood would stain that soil. His body collapse—not surrender—but sacrifice.

This is the price of saving others.

The Man Behind the Rifle

Charles Nelson DeGlopper grew up in the small-town quiet of Hudson Falls, New York. A kid raised with grit tucked inside his bones, grounded in faith and family. Like many who wore the uniform in World War II, his code came first—from church pews to the front lines.

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

DeGlopper’s life echoed those words before the war even called. Not talk of glory, but duty; not ease, but endurance. He joined the 82nd Airborne Division, training hard, moving fast, ready to jump into hell if needed. A repairman by trade, a warrior by calling.

Holding the Line at Normandy

June 9, 1944. Three days after D-Day. The heat of battle still thick over the hedgerows of Normandy. The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment pushed inland. The enemy pushed back. The fighting was brutal, unforgiving.

At "M Farm" near Sainte-Mère-Église, DeGlopper’s squad faced a counterattack. American forces needed to pull back, fast. Without a cover force, they’d be slaughtered.

DeGlopper volunteered to cover the retreat. He stood in an open field, fully exposed, with an M1 rifle and a Browning Automatic Rifle.

Enemy machine guns raked the area, bullets tearing the earth and flesh around him. He fired relentlessly, the roar of his BAR staccato against the German assault.

“He pulled me behind a tree,” recalled Sgt. Clarence Smoyer, a comrade, “and told me to keep moving.”

DeGlopper was hit multiple times but refused to cease firing. His actions delayed the enemy just long enough for his unit to withdraw safely. Then he fell—his body broken, but his mission fulfilled.

A Medal Earned in Blood

Charles N. DeGlopper posthumously received the Medal of Honor on May 30, 1945.

His citation tells of valor few men can claim:

“With full knowledge of the peril involved, he remained behind, clearly exposing himself to intense enemy fire, to protect the withdrawing elements of his squad.”

General Omar Bradley, commander of the 12th Army Group, called DeGlopper’s heroism a "shining example" of the sacrifice demanded by war.

His hometown of Hudson Falls immortalized his name at the Charles N. DeGlopper Park. But the true memorial lives in the lives saved, the brothers who owe their breath to that one man’s last stand.

Blood, Honor, Redemption

What does it mean to stand and face the storm when every instinct screams to run? DeGlopper’s story answers with quiet, brutal clarity: some souls carry the burden of others’ lives.

His battlefield scar is not just flesh. It's trust forged in fire—redemption measured not in medals but in sacrifice.

The soldier’s road is often lonely, paved with moments no history book can capture. But the spirit of men like Charles N. DeGlopper endures, whispered in prayer and grit.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7

In a world desperate for heroes, let us remember him—not as a distant figure in old photographs, but as a man who bled so others might live.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Stephen Ambrose, D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II (Simon & Schuster) 3. Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor citation, National Archives 4. Oral history interview with Sgt. Clarence Smoyer, WWII Paratrooper Records, Eisenhower Library