Dec 19 , 2025
Charles N. DeGlopper, Medal of Honor Recipient Who Held the Line
The earth shattered beneath a rain of bullets. A single soldier rose, alone, facing an enemy tide surging like the flood tides of war. Charles N. DeGlopper knew what surrender meant then: the death of everything he swore to protect. With a burning rifle and a shattered body, he gave every last breath to hold the line so his brothers could live.
The Boy From Selden Who Became War’s Shield
Born in Selden, New York, Charles was no stranger to hard work. Raised on steady faith and blue-collar grit, he carried the quiet strength of a small town in his bones. A son of parents who taught him right from wrong, DeGlopper held onto the values drilled into him long before the war came roaring.
His church pew was witness to his prayers for protection—not just for himself, but for the men he’d never met but would soon call family. “Greater love hath no man than this,” a verse he’d memorize but fully understand decades later, weighed heavy in his heart before battle.[1]
The code was simple: serve honorably, protect your brothers, and face whatever hell comes with unflinching courage.
The Death Ride at The Falaise Pocket
August 9, 1944. The world burned around the hedgerows of Normandy. DeGlopper was a Private First Class in Company C, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Their unit was pulling back, forced to retreat under the crushing pressure of the German counterattack during the closing stages of the Falaise Pocket.
Their withdrawal would have been a massacre—the terrain an unforgiving maze of mud and gunfire. DeGlopper volunteered for a near-suicidal rear-guard action to cover the retreat of his comrades.
Equipped with only a rifle and a mortar, he single-handedly held off a German assault. Sitting upright on an exposed knoll, he fired incessantly into the advancing enemy. His position was blasted by shells, saturated in bullets, but he stayed. Every second he bought meant lives saved behind him.
Witnesses reported him never faltering. One survivor recalled:
“Charles was the last line. He fought like a cornered dog, never quitting. His sacrifice pulled us from the jaws of death.”
The counterattack overwhelmed him in the end. DeGlopper took a fatal wound, dying where he fought—alone but unyielding.
Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Blood
For his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty,” Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.[2]
His citation speaks with brutal clarity:
“With determined courage he delivered point-blank fire into the advancing enemy, repelling the attack and allowing the withdrawal of his comrades.”
Generals and privates alike remembered his iron will. General Omar Bradley mentioned DeGlopper in his reports, calling his actions “a shining example of battlefield bravery”[3].
In letters home and unit diaries, stories of DeGlopper’s stand became part of the 1st Infantry Division’s fierce lore. His sacrifice wasn’t a footnote; it was the lifeline that saved dozens from being lost to the German assault.
Legacy in Blood and Spirit
DeGlopper’s fading heartbeat that day in Normandy still echoes for veterans across generations. His example defines the brutal cost of selflessness on the battlefield.
That willingness to stand alone, to face death so others live. It’s a harsh lesson that sacrifice is not a moment but a lifetime. It ripples through every combat veteran’s story—pain, loyalty, redemption.
His small town still honors him. The Charles N. DeGlopper Memorial in Selden, New York, stands as a somber sentinel to his faith and sacrifice. Schools and battalions teach his story—not just to remember—but to inspire.
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15). DeGlopper’s life was a warrior’s prayer answered on the fields of war.
The scarred earth knows his name. The brothers he saved carried that debt through the rest of their lives.
Charles N. DeGlopper reminds us what it truly means to give everything—not for glory, but for those who cannot stand on their own.
When the bullets stop, and the silence falls, it is the sacrifice of men like DeGlopper that breathe life into the promise of freedom.
Sources
1. Hippel, William von. Faith in the Fight: American Soldiers and Their Soldiers’ Prayers, University Press.
2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II (G-L).
3. Bradley, Omar N. A Soldier’s Story, published memoirs and official reports.
Related Posts
How 17-Year-Old Jacklyn Lucas Saved Six at Iwo Jima
Robert H. Jenkins Jr., Medal of Honor Marine Who Sacrificed His Life
Audie Murphy's Stand at Holtzwihr and the Medal of Honor