EAGLES NEST

After the war, Sherman Pratt stayed in the Army, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He and his wife, Anastasia, eventually settled in Arlington, Virginia. Pratt passed away on September 23, 2013 and is buried in Section 66. Colonel Sink also remained in the Army and rose to the rank lieutenant general. He passed away on December 13, 1965, and is buried with his wife Margaret, in Section 1. Although the popular book and HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” have supported the myth that it was Sink’s paratroopers who took Berchtesgaden, it was really the infantrymen of the 3rd Infantry Division who made it to the top first.

,Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Commander of U.S forces in Europe and later President of the United States, wrote that the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division was the first to take the Eagle's Nest.^[6] In his interview with the Library of Congress, Herman Louis Finnell of the 3rd Division, 7th Regiment, Company I, stated that he and his ammo carrier, Pfc. Fungerburg, were the first to enter the Eagle's Nest, as well as the secret passages below the structure. Finnell stated that the hallway below the structure had rooms on either side filled with destroyed paintings, evening gowns, as well as destroyed medical equipment and a wine cellar.^[7] General Maxwell D. Taylor, former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, stated the same.^[8] Photographs and newsreel footage show 3rd Infantry soldiers relaxing on the Eagle's Nest patio, "drinking Hitler's wine", affirming that they were present at the house in May 1945.^[9]