How Charlie DeGlopper's sacrifice earned the Medal of Honor

Oct 01 , 2025

How Charlie DeGlopper's sacrifice earned the Medal of Honor

Charlie DeGlopper’s rifle spat cold lead into a wall of enemy fire.

He stood alone on a ridge near the Marne River, bullets hammering past like death itself chased him down. Behind him, his platoon melted away under the German onslaught. But Charlie—he held the line. No retreat but forward. No surrender but death.

The Faith and Formative Fires

Charles Neil DeGlopper hailed from Malone, New York. Raised in a working-class family, grounded in faith and grit, he grew up with the weight of responsibility pressing heavy on young shoulders.

In the crucible of small-town life, Charlie’s values forged hard: loyalty. Courage. Duty. The kind of grit that doesn’t brag but commands respect. A devout Christian, his mother’s prayers and Sunday sermons shaped a quiet strength. In letters home, he often cited Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

This belief didn’t make him fearless. It made him resolute. A man who moved as if guarded by divine purpose, even when the horrors of war clawed at his soul.

The Battle That Defined Him: July 18, 1944

Late summer, 1944. World War II raged across France. Charlie served as a Private First Class with Company C, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division—The Big Red One, warriors who bore the fiercest fighting in Europe.

The task that day near the Marne River was brutal. Allied units pinned down by relentless German machine guns and mortars. American soldiers caught in crossfire with little cover. Command ordered a withdrawal.

DeGlopper volunteered to cover his comrades’ retreat. Alone, armed with a single rifle and a heartbeat fueled by steel and faith, he advanced against a withering hailstorm of bullets and explosions.

He fired relentlessly, pausing only to reload under fire. Each shot a drumbeat buying seconds for his buddies to disappear over the ridge into safety.

His platoon’s losses cut deep. DeGlopper's body finally crumpled on the battlefield—mortally wounded, but his sacrifice etched in blood: a firewall of courage letting his brothers live.

The Medal and the Words That Echo

Charlie DeGlopper posthumously received the Medal of Honor. The citation spells it out without softening the hard truth:

“Pfc. DeGlopper’s actions made possible the safe withdrawal of the remainder of the company and thus helped maintain the offensive momentum of his battalion. His courage and self-sacrifice reflect the highest traditions of the military service.”

Leaders and comrades remembered him not as a hero out of myth but as a man who stepped into hell for others.

Capt. Raymond A. Davis recalled, “DeGlopper was the bravest man I ever knew. He threw himself into that killing field knowing what the odds were—and he didn’t hesitate.”

The Enduring Lessons

Charlie’s story wasn’t about glory. It was about sacrifice—the raw kind that stays with you long after medals tarnish.

He taught warriors and civilians alike that true courage isn’t noise or bravado. It’s the quiet act of standing when you’re alone. It’s the choice to die so others live.

His final stand near the Marne was a crucible where the faith of a soldier met the cruel calculus of war—and a testament to the unyielding spirit of combat veterans.

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

Charlie DeGlopper’s rifle went silent, but his legacy roars—a tower of sacrifice, faith, and brotherhood that echoes through the ages.

He bled so that others might not. He stood when it counted most.

We remember because forgetting is the real enemy.

Sources

1. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, "Charles N. DeGlopper" 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, "Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II" 3. Raymond A. Davis, "Eyewitness Account of Charles DeGlopper’s Actions," 1944 Archive