Charles N. DeGlopper’s Sacrifice and Medal of Honor at Normandy

Dec 31 , 2025

Charles N. DeGlopper’s Sacrifice and Medal of Honor at Normandy

The mud sucked at his boots. Bullets shredded the air where he stood, firing alone against the crashing tide of German infantry. Charles N. DeGlopper did not falter. His voice rang out, a challenge and a beacon amidst the chaos, from a hill soaked in blood at the Normandy bocage. That single act of defiance bought time — and cost him everything.

The Road to War: A Man Rooted in Duty

Charles Neil DeGlopper grew up in Schroon Lake, New York, a small town carved from forest and lake wind. Raised with the simple, steady values of faith, family, and duty, his sense of honor ran deep. His roots pulled him toward service, and when the war came knocking, he answered without hesitation.

“I want to do the right thing. Do the thing God would want me to do.” This born-again conviction, a soldier’s creed of faith beneath the fear, would carry him through hell.

The Cauldron at Normandy: August 18, 1944

He served in the storied 82nd Airborne Division, the “All Americans,” hardened vets who fought the fiercest fights from Sicily to Normandy. The morning of August 18 found their unit pinned down near La Fière, in the battle to break out from the D-Day beachhead.

DeGlopper’s platoon was ordered to withdraw across a field exposed to the German line. Enemy machine guns raked the ground like an angry storm. As the platoon fell back, chaos erupted. DeGlopper stayed—alone on that field—drawing fire to cover his comrades.

According to after-action reports, he stood tall, firing his M1 rifle with precision while the enemy zeroed in on his position. His ammunition emptied, he charged—his bayonet flashing—to disrupt the German advance one last time before being mortally wounded. His sacrifice stalled the enemy long enough for the rest to escape.

His commanding officer called it “one of the most heroic acts observed in the airborne division.” His final deed was not just courage under fire—it was a deliberate act of self-sacrifice that embodies the warrior’s highest code.

Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Blood

On December 12, 1944, Charles N. DeGlopper posthumously received the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... While his platoon withdrew, he alone stood and fired... and then charged the enemy with his bayonet, inflicting casualties before he was mortally wounded.”[^1]

His name joined the pantheon of those who gave all without counting the cost. His comrades remembered him not just as a soldier, but as a brother who chose the hard path so others might live.

A Legacy Forged in Fire

DeGlopper’s story is stitched into the eternal fabric of sacrifice. His hill remains a silent witness to valor. Flags fly, medals hang, and history books tell the tale, but the true lesson cuts deeper.

His courage was not born from the absence of fear, but the choice to stand in it. To protect others at the edge of oblivion—that is the heart of sacrifice.

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

In today’s world, his life speaks to every vet carrying scars, every citizen wrestling with what service demands. It echoes beyond the battlefield: courage lives in the moments when we refuse to quit, when we place others above self.

Charles N. DeGlopper bled for something bigger than himself. That legacy remains—raw, unyielding, and forever redemptive.

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II.