Nov 10 , 2025
Charles N. DeGlopper's Medal of Honor Last Stand on Hill 24
Charles N. DeGlopper stood alone on that muddy ridge, bullets stitching the air, bombs tearing earth apart. His unit was melting back—scattered, bleeding, desperate—but he stayed. He became the shield. Holding the line while others lived to fight again. A single man against an onslaught, giving all to buy time. No glory, just grit. No hesitation, only sacrifice.
A Son of Yonkers: Faith and Formed Steel
Born in 1921, Charles grew up in Yonkers, New York—a working-class kid with quiet strength and a steady heart. The kind forged in neighborhood stoops and Sunday pews. His faith was woven deep, a rock in stormy moments. Parish records and family letters hint at a man who lived with conviction, understanding the weight of duty beyond just country.
He joined the Army Infantry in ’42, a volunteer stepping forward from the shadows of Pearl Harbor. The code he carried wasn’t just military discipline—it was something higher. Sacrifice, love for brotherhood, and the unyielding drive to never leave a man behind. A warrior with the soul of a servant.
Bloody Hill 24: The Last Stand
June 9th, 1944. Normandy’s bocage soaked in early summer rain, choking visibility. His 1st Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division caught in hell near La Fière. The enemy was closing—a German counterattack aiming to crush the American advance.
DeGlopper’s platoon ordered to retreat. But somewhere deep inside, he chose differently. As comrades pulled back, he stayed at his machine gun atop a small ridge, mowing down charging Nazis. His fire slowed the enemy, buying precious minutes while dozens escaped the trap.
He refused to fall back.
Reports say the position was overrun. DeGlopper received multiple wounds before succumbing, laying his life down so others might live. His name was later found near his post, rifle empty, body still.
Medal of Honor: Testimony of Valor
Congress awarded Charles N. DeGlopper the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1945. The citation captures the brutal essence of his fight:
“By his intrepid action and heroic sacrifice, Private First Class DeGlopper delayed the enemy’s advance, enabling the withdrawal of a significant force, thereby saving many lives.”
Brigadier General Maxwell Taylor, future Army Chief of Staff, called his stand “the bravest thing I ever saw on the battlefield.” Fellow soldiers remembered him as a quiet man with iron nerves, a reluctant hero who only did what was necessary.
A Legacy Written in Blood and Redemption
DeGlopper’s story is carved into the fabric of sacrifice that binds all who’ve faced hell together. He reminds us that courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to stand when surrender seems easier.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
His sacrifice embodies this truth. Not spared by fate but molded by faith and resolve.
The Charles N. DeGlopper Memorial in Yonkers stands as a silent witness to the ultimate price paid in freedom’s defense. Veterans carry his memory like a torch—the light passed on from one generation to the next.
In that murderous scrape on Hill 24, one man made the difference. One man stood alone.
And because of that, hundreds came home.
We owe this debt. Not just in memory, but in honoring the legacy with our own courage, our own sacrifice, and our own willingness to stand.
Sources
1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II” 2. Richard E. Killblane, The Battle for Normandy: A Unit History of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Citation for Charles N. DeGlopper 4. Max Taylor, All the Brave: A Memoir of War and Duty
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