| Charles N. DeGlopper of Grand Island, New York, was the only soldier from the 325th Glider Infantry to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He was also the only soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division to receive the award during the Normandy campaign. |
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| Rank and organization: Private First Class, Company C, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Place and date: Merderet River at La Fiere, France, 9 June 1944 Entered service at: Grand Island, New York Birth: Grand Island, New York General Order Number: 22, 28 February 1946 |
| CHARLES N. DeGLOPPER |
| Citation: He was a member of Company C, 325th Glider Infantry, on 9 June 1944 advancing with the forward platoon to secure a bridgehead across the Merderet River at La Fiere, France. At dawn the platoon had penetrated an outer line of machineguns and riflemen, but in so doing had become cut off from the rest of the company. Vastly superior forces began a decimation of the stricken unit and put in motion a flanking maneuver which would have completely exposed the American platoon in a shallow roadside ditch where it had taken cover. Detecting this danger, Pfc. DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by fire from his automatic rifle while they attempted a withdrawal through a break in the hedgerow 40 yards to the rear. Scorning a concentration of enemy automatic weapons and rifle fire, he walked from a ditch onto the road in full view of the Germans, and sprayed the hostile positions with assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued firing. Struck again, he started to fall; and yet his grim determination and valiant fighting spirit could not be broken. Kneeling in the roadway, weakened by his grievous wounds, he leveled his heavy weapon against the enemy and fired burst after burst until killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy action away from his fellow soldiers, who continued the fight from a more advantageous position and established the first bridgehead over the Merderet. In the area where he made his intrepid stand his comrades later found the ground strewn with dead Germans and many machineguns and automatic weapons which he had knocked out of action. Pfc. DeGlopper's gallant sacrifice and unflinching heroism while facing insurmountable odds were in great measure responsible for a highly important tactical victory in the Normandy campaign. |
| Photo appears courtesy of 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment homepage |
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| Charles DeGlopper and S/Sgt Kirby McDonald, Company C |
| Photo appears courtesy of Joe Synakowski, Trustee, Charles N. DeGlopper VFW Post #9249, Grand Island, NY, who received this picture from Wayne Pierce, 325th GIR Historian. |
| From a 1994 letter to Joe Synakowski from Wayne Pierce... "McDonald,. the Co-C Supply Sgt, sent this photo to his girlfriend (now his wife of many years). This photo was taken in March 1944 at our Camp March Hare, Scraptoft (Leicester) England. I've heard several stories about how big DeGlopper was. McDonald tells me that he was about 6 ft 6 inches although others have said 6' 4". McDonald is around 5' 8". McDonald also said that DeGlopper weighed about 240 ibs. and wore a size 13 shoe. "I did not know DeGlopper. I came to Company C as Company Commander the morning that DeGlopper was KIA. During that fight, I was with our battalion commander, Teddy Sanford. We were following the left flank of Company C. We were close enough for Sanford to throw a grenade but we were not eye-witnesses to the action in which DeGlopper was KIA. The eye-witness acount for the citation came from Lt. Paul Kinsey, now deceased." |
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