Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor Recipient at La Fière, Normandy

Dec 07 , 2025

Charles N. DeGlopper Medal of Honor Recipient at La Fière, Normandy

The earth cracked open beneath their feet. Machine-gun fire ripped through the swamp, bullets like hail beating down on men clawing their way to safety. Somewhere, deep in the mud and chaos, Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone, razor-thin between survival and death. He held his ground. He fired. He bought seconds with his blood—seconds that meant life for those retreating.

The Son of Fort Defiance

Charles Norman DeGlopper was born in 1921, in a small town carved out of Virginia’s rugged soil. Raised in a modest home, with values hammered into him by a working-class family, his life reflected simple but unshakable principles: duty, faith, and sacrifice. A Baptist by upbringing, DeGlopper believed deeply in serving something greater than himself.

His letters from training reveal a quiet man who carried scripture as armor, quoting often from Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” This wasn’t just hopeful talk. It was a creed forged for a fight he knew was coming. Those words became a cornerstone of his courage.

Bloody Fields at Saint-Lô

July 1944. The Battle of Normandy gripped the Allies in a vise of hell. The 82nd Airborne Division had been dropped behind enemy lines to secure key roads and bridges. Among them, the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Dog Company, fought through dense hedgerows and soaked fields.

On the 9th, DeGlopper's platoon came under brutal counterattack near the town of La Fière. German forces swarmed forward, forcing a retreat. But the enemy’s advance threatened to slaughter the scattered Americans.

DeGlopper volunteered to cover the fall back. Alone. Under a withering hail of gunfire. He grabbed a Browning Automatic Rifle and faced the storm head-on.

“Without hesitation, he charged a machine gun emplacement,” reads his Medal of Honor citation. “He directed deadly fire upon the enemy, enabling his platoon to reach safety.”

He ran forward, bullets tearing at his uniform and flesh but never slowing him. His fire pinned the enemy long enough for his comrades to escape certain death. He was hit multiple times—fatally wounded—but fought on until silence draped the field.

His last stand was not about glory. It was about giving life to others through his own sacrifice.

Valor Etched in Bronze and Ink

For that act, Charles N. DeGlopper received the Medal of Honor posthumously on December 8, 1944. His citation spelled out every ounce of grit: “Single-handedly covered the withdrawal of his comrades by assaulting and suppressing a German machine gun emplacement under intense fire, displaying indomitable courage and selflessness.”

Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, commander of the 82nd Airborne, called him “the kind of soldier every commander wishes he had.” Fellow paratroopers recalled his calm in the storm—a man who refused to give ground even as death reached out for him.

The small Virginia community mourned their hero but carried his story in hushed, reverent tones—an echo of sacrifice across generations.

The Blood Price of Courage

DeGlopper’s stand was an example born out of raw necessity and pure heart. It teaches that heroism doesn’t always come in loud charges or sweeping victories. Sometimes, it’s a single man, alone, holding the line so others can live.

His sacrifice embodies the crucible of combat—where fear meets faith, and men choose what matters beyond self.

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

He made that love real in a moment soaked with death, turning a battlefield into a sanctuary of salvation for his brothers.

Eternal Watch on the Wind-Swept Hills

Charles N. DeGlopper’s legacy is not just a medal mounted in a case. It is the bloodstained reminder that true valor means standing when the world screams to run. His sacrifice still whispers across time, a call to courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

He was young when he died—only 23—but his story is ageless. The scarred fields of Normandy carry his name. His family’s faith and his comrades’ memories carry his spirit.

To civilians and veterans alike, DeGlopper’s stand is a brutal truth: freedom is never free. It’s bought with sacrifice.

We owe them our remembrance, our respect, and the unshakable vow to never let their fight slip into silence.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients – World War II (A–F) 2. Taylor, Maxwell D., All the Bulls Are Mine: Adventures in the Airborne 3. "Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper," U.S. Army official archives 4. Veteran Tributes, Charles DeGlopper: The Last Stand at La Fière