Atlantic City pledges $430K to secure home for World War II memorial honoring medic Bernie Friedenberg

ATLANTIC CITY — Even after three years, 100 sidewalk fund-raisers in front of liquor stores, and a pledge of $300,000 from the city, the Friends of Bernie Friedenberg were still $133,000 short.

Their goal was to fully fund their long-sought World War II memorial, a sculpture in honor of Staff Sgt. Bernard Friedenberg, an Army medic and Atlantic City native who earned two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.

But on Thursday, after hearing of the shortfall, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small made a phone call and then unexpectedly upped the city’s donation to $433,000. Small said the money is coming from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan funds.

“Am I happy?” said Susan Friedenberg, in disbelief, standing at the future site of the memorial to her father. “Am I even standing here?”

The group had gathered Thursday with the mayor at the future site of the memorial, Captain O’Donnell Park, a grassy but underused city park where Albany Avenue crosses Atlantic Avenue, to announce the $300,000 donation from the city in advance of Veterans Day.

But with the mayor’s last-minute upping of the ante, it became a true celebration.

O’Donnell Park sits as one of the gateways to Atlantic City, with another memorial, a circular Greek-style World War I monument, with a sculpture called Liberty in Distress inside but behind locked gates.

Robert Turkavage, a former FBI agent who is chair of the Friends organization, said the money would allow for hardscaping that will elevate the project into a park-wide destination.

The group plans flags, illumination, educational kiosks, paving, and a lighted pathway that will connect the Friedenberg memorial to the Liberty in Distress memorial. The total cost is about $900,000, he said.

“Ideally those gates will be removed,” said Marco Polo Smigliani, cochair of the organization, and a Marine Corps veteran, of the locked-away World War I sculpture. “It’s the icing on the cake.”

The park also borders the city’s Stockton University campus. Organizers noted that 400 veterans attend Stockton.

Friedenberg, who grew up in Atlantic City, was rejected by three service branches because of poor vision. But he was able to be deployed as an Army medic. He received a Silver Star for his heroism on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

On that day, Friedenberg heard moans and saw wounded soldiers coming from a minefield. He crawled into the minefield and pulled five soldiers out, narrowly escaping death after a mine exploded, killing a sixth soldier he was attempting to save.

Upon returning home, Friedenberg lived in Margate and was a frequent speaker at high schools and colleges, and an advocate for veterans’ causes. He died in 2018.

» READ MORE: Will Atlantic City be the home of a memorial to World War II medic Bernie Friedenberg?

The statue of Friedenberg was designed and is being created by Pennsylvania-based Fisher Sculpture. The 3,500-pound bronze statue depicts a 6-foot Friedenberg cradling a wounded soldier on Omaha Beach. It will be illuminated at dusk and is meant to honor all other Americans who served in World War II.