Charles N. DeGlopper, a Grand Island native, was killed in action three days (June 9th, 1944) after the invasion of German-occupied Europe in Normandy, France in what is known as D-Day (June 6th, 1944).

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For his act of heroism during a battle with German forces on June 9th, he was posthumously awarded the highest honor for a soldier -- the Medal of Honor. DeGlopper was a member of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment/82nd Airborne Division.

Now, a long-awaited effort to erect a sculpture in his honor is almost here.

According to WGRZ, a bronze sculpture of DeGlopper will be unveiled on Grand Island on the anniversary of D-Day, June 6th. It will be held at the memorial park that was named after him.

Youngstown sculptor Susan Geissler was commissioned to create the sculpture in 2018 after the funding was approved and after modeling a clay sculpture, it was delivered to a foundry in Colorado to be cast into molds and eventually into bronze.

DeGlopper was 6'7'', so it was a difficult sculpture to make because he was such a tall individual.

"I would stand next to the sculpture, and I would look at photo of him I had standing next to a woman that was my height ... and it was right. But it kept challenging me because I wasn't used to looking at such a tall figure all of the time," said Geissler.

The sculpture will be unveiled to the public on June 6th.

Read the entire story at WGRZ.

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