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The city held a dedication ceremony for the Bernie Friedenberg World War II Memorial on Thursday, June 6. The unveiling was held on D-Day exactly 80 years after the Allied invasion of Normandy, France.
The memorial at O'Donnell Memorial Park also honors all other Americans who served during World War II.
"We appreciate your service to this country, making it the greatest country in the world," Mayor Marty Small Sr. said. "We are eternally grateful for all that you did because without you doing what you've done, there would be no us."
World War II veterans, Gold Star Mothers of America members, and other military families were among the honored guests at the ceremony. The 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard conducted a flyover.
The memorial is named after Bernie Friedenberg who grew up in Atlantic City and went to schools in the area.
"My father Bernie fought to get into the war," his daughter Susan Friedenberg said. "He quit Temple University the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and went home to enlist. Jews all over the United States knew what was happening in Europe and my father wanted to fight."
According to the memorial's website, Friedenberg was rejected from the Army, Navy, and Marines due to poor vision. The Army eventually accepted him as a medic and rose to the rank of staff sergeant.
Even though he was in a non-combat role, Susan Friedenberg said he was shot four times during the war and carried a gun on him. He was deployed in Algeria and Sicily, Italy in 1942 and 1943 before he landed on Omaha Beach during D-Day.
Friedenberg then fought in several battles throughout France and Germany in 1944, most notably the Battle of the Bulge.
"In these and other battles, it was Friedenberg’s job to remove or supervise the removal of wounded soldiers from the front lines to secure aid stations where he and others would render initial medical care to them," the memorial's website said.
At the ceremony, Susan Friedenberg told a powerful story of when her father rushed into a bombed building after hearing a soldier screaming in pain. He originally thought it could be an Allied soldier but it was a German fighter.
Susan said her father chose not to shoot his enemy and showed him mercy.
"My father knelt down, gave this German soldier morphine, tended to his wounds," she said. "[He] then got down low, and looked this soldier right in the eyes and said in Yiddish, 'Never forget a Jew saved your life.'"
Friedenberg received two Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. One Silver Star Medal was given for his actions on Omaha Beach when he rescued wounded soldiers from a minefield five times.
After the war, Friedenberg owned two bars and hotels in Atlantic City, according to his obituary. He was a commander of the South Jersey chapter of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States for 20 years.
Friedenberg also served on the Atlantic County Veterans Advisory Board. He died in 2018 at 96 years old.
Mayor Small said the city used $430,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to pay for the memorial.
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