Feb 25 , 2026

Charles N. DeGlopper's Sacrifice on the Normandy Ridge

He stood alone on a ridge nicknamed “The Bloody Gulch,” bullets stitching the air around him like hail from the storm. His breath ragged, his rifle cracked relentlessly, Charles N. DeGlopper bought time—time soaked in blood and grit—for his brothers to pull back and live.

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From Small Town Roots to Soldier’s Code

Charles was born into the small, quiet rhythms of Schroon Lake, New York—roots deep in hard work and plain values. His faith wasn’t loud, but it was steel beneath the skin. Raised in a Methodist household, he saw life as a test of integrity and sacrifice. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” echoed in his heart long before the war called.

He enlisted in 1942, traded the maple woods for the olive drab of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. DeGlopper wrote letters home filled with dry humor and steady resolve. Combat wasn’t a game. It was a calling.

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The Battle That Defined Him

June 9, 1944, days after D-Day. The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd, was entrenched near the French village of La Fière. The enemy was fierce and well dug-in. American forces had to withdraw, but a regiment’s flank risked getting sliced open. DeGlopper’s platoon volunteered to cover the retreat.

Singlehanded, Charles fixed his position on a dirt knoll overlooking the open fields. Waiting for his comrades to clear, he poured lead into the charging Nazi lines—rifle, then attempted to maneuver with his BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) amid a furious counterattack. Each burst delayed the enemy, each gut shot a price paid in full.

Bullets tore through his body, but he stayed standing, functional. His actions shredded the enemy’s momentum long enough for fellow soldiers to slip away. Then, as the light dimmed, Charles fell—dying in the dirt he fiercely held.

His sacrifice that day was decisive in stopping a breakthrough that could have unravelled the fragile American hold near Normandy.

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Medal of Honor: Words Etched in Valor

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, DeGlopper’s citation laid out the brutal truth clear as a blade:

"With complete disregard for his own safety and while under intense enemy fire, Private First Class DeGlopper repeatedly fired his weapon, impeding the advance of the hostile force. His courageous and selfless act gave his comrades the opportunity to withdraw without annihilation."

His battalion commander called him “the finest example of bravery” he had witnessed. Fellow soldiers recounted how his actions inspired an entire unit to hold firm when chaos threatened to engulf them.

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Legacy: Beyond the Battlefield

DeGlopper’s ridge is silent now, but echoes of his sacrifice thunder through time. A physical reminder stands—DeGlopper Hill, near Saint-Lô, France—a sacred ground marked by those who refused to forget.

His story is not just about bravery; it is a somber lesson in what true sacrifice demands. The soldier on that ridge understood that freedom’s price is never light, never cheap.

In a world rushing toward convenience and comfort, DeGlopper’s stand punches a hole in our illusions. Courage is facing the unraveling of your world—and staying the line anyway.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” —2 Timothy 4:7

Charles N. DeGlopper ran his race in the mud, under hellfire. He kept the faith for all who follow. His grave may be distant, but his story is close—etched into the marrow of every soldier who knows what sacrifice means.

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Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Stephen Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, 1997 3. 82nd Airborne Division Association, Official Unit History

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