‘Embracing Peace’ statue stands tall at Omaha’s Memorial Park

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Early Friday morning a grand statue commemorating the end of World War II rolled in to Memorial Park on a flatbed truck.

It came to Omaha from the Seward Johnson Atelier in New Jersey. The 26-foot, 35,000 pound work of art also stood in other locations.

“It’s a traveling statue,” said Tiffany Regan with the Omaha Parks Foundation. “There are two in the world, actually. The other is in Italy right now. Then there’s two permanent ones. One in Sarasota, Florida and one at U.S.S Midway in San Diego.”

Now, “Embracing Peace” will stand in Memorial Park for the next six months as part of the park’s 75th anniversary in June.

Due to the statue’s weight, there wasn’t a good place to put it. That’s until the City’s parks department sought help, leading to the building for a new plaza.

“That’s when they called me and asked to evaluate those spots and I said to them, ‘this is the time to make a permanent improvement,’” said architect Merle Rambo.

Regan said she hopes the statue draws more visitors to the park and helps them recognize the history behind the image.

“Their sons and daughters and husbands were coming home and it just brought a lot of jubilation and pride. That’s what we’re hoping to do with this,” she said.

The statue will be on display through November 15.

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