Charles N. DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Recipient at Hill 24 in Normandy

Apr 17 , 2026

Charles N. DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Recipient at Hill 24 in Normandy

He stood alone. Bullets ripped past. The roar of artillery drowned the screams. His squad was falling back. Left behind—not by choice but by need. Charles N. DeGlopper didn’t hesitate. He made his stand. A one-man shield against hell’s fury.

The Boy From Schroon Lake

Born in 1921, Charles grew up in the quiet shadows of upstate New York’s Adirondacks. A small town boy shaped by the hard truths of the Great Depression—work was the currency of dignity. He carried that grit into the Army, enlisting in 1942 with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Faith walked beside him. Raised in a Christian home, his mother’s lessons threaded through his marrow: humility, sacrifice, love. Not the sentimental kind, but the blood-and-soil kind that whispered one truth—greater than fear is duty.

His personal code was simple: never leave a man behind.

Hill 24, Normandy — Death’s Frontier

The morning of June 9, 1944: D-Day plus three. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment locked in a savage fight near the Merderet River. Wet, exhausted, but relentless. The mission: hold Hill 24 and block a German counterattack.

Enemy machine guns erupted like thunder, ripping through DeGlopper's platoon. The men wounded, scattered. The commanding officer ordered withdrawal. But one man would not retreat.

Charles DeGlopper volunteered for a doomed task—stay behind and cover the platoon's retreat. Alone. Potato field soaked with blood and mud. He fired his BAR—Browning Automatic Rifle—suppressing enemy fire.

“Without his gallantry and intrepidity, the withdrawal could not have been accomplished,” reads his Medal of Honor citation.

The Germans zeroed their sights on him. Bullets tore into his chest and was hit multiple times but he kept firing. His sacrifice bought his comrades precious minutes, saved lives at the price of his own.

In that blasted field, a soldier carved his name in eternity.

Medal of Honor — A Nation Remembers

Posthumous Medal of Honor awarded on November 19, 1944. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words echoed in the halls of valor:

“Private Charles N. DeGlopper gave his life for his comrades upon the field of battle. His heroic action reflects the greatest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.”

His commanding officers recalled his quiet determination rather than bravado. “Charles was the soul of the platoon. When the line broke, he stood tall. He gave us a chance to live,” said Captain Charles M. Turner of the 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR[¹].

Legacy Etched in Sacrifice

DeGlopper’s story lives in the pages of history but also in the pulse of every soldier who faces impossible odds. His stand is no mere act of war—it is a testament to the burden carried by those who refuse to falter.

In a world quick to forget, he teaches us this: courage often wears the face of selfless sacrifice. Victory is sometimes measured not by land gained but by the lives saved at the bitter edge of a rifle’s fire.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Today, a bridge over the Merderet River bears his name near Normandy. A silent, stoic monument to the man who stayed when all fled. Charles N. DeGlopper’s legacy is not just a story of war. It is a call to purpose—to stand when standing seems impossible, to carry the weight of others when your own strength fades.

The battlefield doesn’t end with the guns. It continues in the lives touched and memories honored. His sacrifice is a beacon—dark and bright.

Because sometimes, a man’s last act writes the greatest story of all.

Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II [2] Department of Defense, Award Citation: Private Charles N. DeGlopper [3] 82nd Airborne Division Archives, After Action Reports, June 1944