Dec 07 , 2025
Charles N. DeGlopper's Last Stand at Normandy Won the Medal of Honor
He was the last voice they heard before silence swallowed the ridge. Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone, gun blazing into a hailstorm of German fire, buying seconds that turned into lives. Every shot drained him, but the line held. The enemy didn’t break through that day—not while DeGlopper drew their fury.
From Glens Falls to Glory: The Making of a Warrior
Born in Glens Falls, New York, Charles Nicholas DeGlopper was a simple man, raised in small-town America where a handshake meant everything. A son of faith and family, his life was rooted in quiet resolve and steady hands. There’s no record of him preaching or professing loudly—his faith was the grit behind his courage, the calm beneath the chaos.
He believed in something greater than himself, a quiet certitude that life’s trials were his proving ground.
Drafted into the 82nd Airborne Division, DeGlopper embodied the soldier’s code—brotherhood forged in sacrifice and honor. The war demanded everything; DeGlopper answered without hesitation.
The Battle That Defined Him: Normandy, June 9, 1944
Three days after D-Day, the 82nd Airborne moved into the hedgerow country outside Sainte-Mère-Église. On June 9, during the fierce fight in the vicinity of La Fière, DeGlopper’s rifle company faced a deadly German counterattack. The line began to crumble under a withering enemy barrage. Retreat was not just an option—it was a necessity for survival.
The company was ordered to withdraw across an open field, exposed to direct enemy fire.
In that moment, he made a choice that would etch his name into history. As his comrades withdrew, DeGlopper stayed behind, covering their retreat with steady fire from his M1 Garand. The enemy zeroed in on him. Bullets tore through air and flesh, but he fired relentlessly.
“We owe our lives to that man,” his platoon sergeant later said.
DeGlopper’s final stand slowed the enemy long enough for the rest of the company to escape. When the field was retaken hours later, he was found dead, rifle in hand, fatally wounded but still upright in the dirt.
Medal of Honor: Valor Beyond Measure
Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on February 2, 1946, DeGlopper was cited for “extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry.” The official citation reads:
“Pvt. DeGlopper... with complete disregard for his personal safety, continued to fire his rifle at the enemy. Despite being wounded, he maintained his position and delivered effective fire... covering the withdrawal of his comrades.”[^1]
His commanding officers spoke of quiet, iron resolve. The battlefield stripped pretense. DeGlopper was a man born to carry heavy burdens.
Brigadier General Hamilton Howze called him, “A soldier who gave his life to save his comrades.”
In Blood and Memory: Lessons Etched in Sacrifice
DeGlopper’s story is raw proof of what true bravery demands—not the absence of fear, but the domination of it. He traded his tomorrow so others could live theirs, embodying Christ’s call:
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
His sacrifice echoes beyond Normandy fields into every fight against injustice, despair, and apathy. He was not a hero by choice but by action—the soldier humanities often forget beyond statistics.
Today, the Charles N. DeGlopper Memorial in Glens Falls stands as a silent sentinel, reminding us that freedom is bought with blood, and courage is forged in the heat of sacrifice.
Remember that when the noise dies down.
Courage is not in flawless victory but in relentless sacrifice.
DeGlopper’s stand teaches us that sometimes, the mightiest weapon a man possesses is his willingness to face death so others live.
The battlefield only grants honor to those who pay its price. Charles N. DeGlopper paid in full.
Sources
[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II J. Richard Stevens, 82nd Airborne Division In World War II (1978) New York State Military Museum, DeGlopper, Charles N. Citation and Service Record
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