Deglopper.jpg

Digital painting by Jean-Pierre Roy, commissioned for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, depicts Charles DeGlopper  in World War II.

Saving C Company, Remembering D Day

Medal of Honor Recipient PFC Charles N. DeGlopper to be Celebrated at

Normandy Commemorations

 

On June 9, 1944, PFC Charles Neilans DeGlopper (aged 22), part of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, was ordered to cross the Merderet River to help attack La Fière Bridge from the opposite side. PFC DeGlopper’s C Company 1st Battalion was cut off from the rest of the battalion and came under heavy fire. PFC DeGlopper rose, firing his Browning Automatic Rifle at the Germans. Wounded, he continued to fire, and when hit again, he still fired, kneeling and bleeding profusely. PFC DeGlopper’s weapon fire distracted the Germans long enough for the remainder of C Company to break off and head for La Fière.

For giving his life above and beyond the call of duty, Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on February 28, 1946, the only member of the 82nd Airborne Division so honored in Normandy.

On May 31, 2010, members of PFC DeGlopper’s family and veterans from his namesake VFW Post in Grand Island (#9249) will travel to Normandy to participate in commemorations for the 66th Anniversary of D Day and retrace his final steps. This is their first trip to see where their late relative fought and died on June 9, 1944.

During the first week of June, they will visit numerous towns and participate in ceremonies near St. Mère Eglise which will culminate with a multi-national parachutist drop. On June 3rd, there will be a wreath laying ceremony at a memorial to Charles N. DeGlopper (dedicated in June 2008) by “Association Normandie,” a local French commemorative organization.

 

For more information contact Kelly Carrigg at 725-9562 or kelly.marie.carrigg@us.army.mil

(Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired)