Charles N. DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero on La Fiere Hill

Oct 09 , 2025

Charles N. DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Hero on La Fiere Hill

Bullets tore through the quiet hill like thunder on a calm night. Men were falling—friends, brothers, the backbone of a Division pinned under the German shadow. Amid chaos, one voice rose. Clear. Defiant. “Hold the line, no matter the cost.” Charles N. DeGlopper stepped forward, a lone figure against the storm of steel, his courage a lifeline for those retreating behind him.

From Small-Town Roots to Soldier’s Steel

Charles N. DeGlopper was born in 1921, in the modest town of Gouverneur, New York. Raised on steady values — grit, sacrifice, and unwavering loyalty — he carried those into the uniform of the United States Army. A paratrooper with the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, DeGlopper was forged by faith and a fierce sense of duty.

_“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”_ (John 15:13). This scripture he lived quietly but powerfully. To him, combat was more than conflict — it was brotherhood, a test of the soul.

The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944. The air still thick from D-Day’s blood and thunder. The mission: hold the critical hill overlooking the La Fière causeway in Normandy. This narrow causeway was the only escape route for drenched, battered elements of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. Without it, nearly 200 men would be slaughtered or captured.

DeGlopper’s rifle squad became the last shield. Under savage German fire—the enemy’s MG42 machine guns and mortars tearing through trees and men—he stood raw in the storm. While his unit fell back, he marched forward alone, firing his M1 rifle and hurling grenades, buying precious seconds. Seconds where men escaped certain death.

The Germans concentrated on him relentlessly. Shot in the leg. Still he fought, down to crawling. His final stand was a deliberate sacrifice—a wall of blood and defiance standing between death and his brothers-in-arms.

The Medal and Words from the Front

Charles N. DeGlopper did not survive that day. His last breaths mixed with gun smoke and the cries of battle. But his sacrifice saved lives. For his extraordinary heroism, he received the Medal of Honor posthumously—an acknowledgment reserved for the rarest valor.

His citation reads in part:

“With complete disregard for his own safety, Private DeGlopper single-handedly covered the movement of his comrades, holding back a superior enemy force, enabling them to withdraw to safety.”[1]

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, Commander of the 82nd Airborne, called his stand “a model of unhesitating courage in the face of overwhelming enemy fire.” Fellow soldiers remembered DeGlopper as a "quiet man whose actions roared louder than any gun."

Legacy Etched in Blood and Honor

The hill where DeGlopper fell is marked today, a solemn reminder of one man's sacrifice amid the sea of war. His name is woven into the fabric of American valor—etched on the Wall of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery and forever enshrined in military history.

His fight was not about glory but about holding the line—a principle every combat soldier understands: when brothers fall back, someone has to stand forward. The price he paid reminds us freedom is never free.

Redemption in Sacrifice

War grinds men down, etches scars deeper than flesh. But from those wounds, stories like DeGlopper’s shatter the darkness with light. His sacrifice speaks across generations, a stark gospel of courage and redemption.

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid... for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Charles N. DeGlopper’s story is the brutal, beautiful truth of combat—it honors the fallen, teaches the living, and reminds us all: in the hell of war, some men become legends by standing when others fall.

And through their scars, we find our hope.

Sources

[1] United States Army Center of Military History, “Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor Citation.” [2] 82nd Airborne Division Association Archives, “D-Day and Normandy Operations.” [3] Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial Records, American Battle Monuments Commission.