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There was almost no better place to end the war. On May 5, 1945, new residents marched into “the Fuhrer’s chosen home”—the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne were in Berchtesgaden. “Berchtesgaden was really the heart of Germany, not Berlin, and it was quite an honor to be in on it,” Dick Winters would recall.
This was the last stop on their rendezvous with destiny. Hitler was dead and days later the Screaming Eagles were toasting VE-Day with Göring’s champagne. When the hangovers faded, their time in Berchtesgaden, the crystal-clear lakes, the alpine breeze in the pines, the beer—would be forever ingrained as the perfect ending to a hard-fought war.
Our latest “Sites of Valor” sign pays tribute to all the soldiers who helped put an end to Hitler’s regime. Featuring hand-embellished weathering, each aluminum sign looks like it was pulled down from market square Berchtesgaden on VE-day and taken as a souvenir. And, most notably, each bears the signatures of two soldiers who were there: from the 101st Airborne is George Mullins (327th GIR) and from the 20th Armored Division is armored infantryman Len Messineo.
This new sign is destined to become the ultimate item in any "Man Cave." With a strictly limited number worldwide, place your order now—before they're history.
Shipping added in checkout // size: 19.75" x 7" // ships sleeved & boxed
PRE-ORDER TODAY: SHIPS STARTING MAY 16
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MAIN EDITION
400 limited-edition signs, autographed by decorated veterans who were in Berchtesgaden during WWII. Now issuing:
2 signature version: George Mullins (101st Abn.) and Len Messineo (20th AD).
3 signature version - SOLD OUT
Each sign includes a seal of authenticity on the reverse side bearing the limited-edition number. Extra items shown in display images not included.
OTHER EDITIONS
An Open Edition, bearing no autographs may be released by Valor Studios. A Signer Proof edition of 10 signs exists for project helpers.
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LEN MESSINEO
Joining the Army in 1943, 18-year-old Len Messineo found himself assigned to the newly formed 20th Armored Division as an armored infantryman, operating an 81-mm mortar out of a halftrack. Going into combat on April 28, 1945, Len and his fellow soldiers of “Task Force 20” crossed the Danube and drove 45 miles into enemy lines into the outskirts of Munich. There, they captured some 800 prisoners, destroyed a supply train, and secured four critical bridges.
The next day, the combat turned fierce when they ran into enemy prepared in “dugouts and behind the thick walls of the SS Training Center and an Anti-tank School which were defended by small arms, machine guns, hundreds of panzerfausts and twelve 88 mm guns.” In the fight that ensued, Len and the soldiers of Task Force 20 eliminated more than 700 SS troops who fought with a fanaticism rarely seen. Len remembers, “My mortar became too hot to touch . . . we dismounted and went along shooting and throwing hand grenades into holes.” With the destruction of the SS resistance, the road to Munich was open and the city was soon seized.
In order to stop the creation of an “Alpine Redoubt”, Len and the soldiers of the 20th crossed into Austria in early May and were in Salzburg when VE-Day arrived. Soon after, Len visited Berchtesgaden to see first hand Hitler’s home, the Berghof, the Eagle's Nest, and the many other sites in the picturesque Bavarian town. One of his favorites: Hitler’s former Mercedes under new management, complete with a 101st Airborne license plate.
GEORGE MULLINS
"At just 19 years old, George traded the quiet of his coal mining hometown in Jenkins, Kentucky, for the brutal battlefields of World War II. He joined the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) of the 101st Airborne Division. On June 7, 1944, George’s journey took him to Utah Beach on D-Day. From the chaos of the beachhead to the streets of Saint-Côme-du-Mont, he fought to liberate Brévands and Carentan.
His courage and commitment were unwavering as he fought in every campaign the 327th GIR undertook. Fighting in the Ardennes brought the war’s horrors and sacrifices into even greater focus.
During the brutal Battle of the Bulge, George was caught in the aftermath of a near-fatal bomb explosion. "I found two of my fellow soldiers lying on top of me," he recalled. "Before I could pull myself free, blood from their wounds was running down my face. As far as I could tell, I was saved by their deaths."
George earned multiple medals for his bravery, including the Purple Heart for a wounds sustained during Operation Market Garden, and continued to push forward, crossing into Germany and eventually fighting at Hitler’s Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden.
His remarkable service ended with his honorable discharge on December 10, 1945, but the memories of war remained. George reflected: “It took me a long time to get my brain straightened out, but our generation is different. We accepted the horrors of war differently than later generations. But you never forget. It’s a hard drive that can’t be erased.”" - courtesy of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation
CHARLES STAUBUS
Charles Staubus grew up on a Kansas farm and in his spare time learned to play the tenor saxophone and clarinet in a local dance band. Joining the army in 1944, Charles volunteered for the paratroopers because “girls liked the uniforms”. He took his jump training at Fort Benning and was then selected to attend rigger school.
Following graduation, he shipped to Europe in time to join the 101st Airborne’s 506th PIR recovering at Mourmelon-le-Grand following the Bulge. There, Charles was put on a machine gun crew but was quickly re-assigned to the regimental band when they learned he was a much-needed tenor sax player.
He served in the 506th from Haguenau to the Ruhr Pocket to the discovery of the Kaufering IV concentration camp at Landsberg to the march into Berchtesgaden in May 1945.
There, Charles went into Hitler’s office at the Little Reich Chancellery and "liberated" some of his personal stationary, which he then used to write his father on VE-Day. During occupation duty in Zell-am-See, Austria, Charles and the band performed frequently for their fellow 101st paratroopers during the summer of 1945.
