World’s Largest American Flag to be Unfurled at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — For several years, Bill and Evonne Williams have been finding ways to celebrate America and its veterans through their volunteer-driven nonprofit, Patriotic Productions. The group’s Memorial Day displays and ceremonies have featured historic reenactments and the “Remembering Our Fallen” traveling photo memorial—a “Wall of Honor” honoring Nebraskans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the past five years, the group has held an annual Patriotic Parade in downtown Omaha. The event began in 2021, shortly after a tumultuous year marked by riots and what co-founder Bill Williams described as a general lack of patriotism across the country.
“It was after the riots downtown, and much of the national media narrative was that America is a horrible, hateful, racist country,” Williams told The Plains Sentinel. “The vast majority of us don’t believe that. Most of us know how lucky we are to be Americans. We’re the most diverse, generous people in the world. But our children and grandchildren get the message that it’s a horrible place. So that’s why we started.”
The event has drawn notable special guests. Last year’s parade brought Pat Boone and Ann-Margret to Omaha; both cruised through the Old Market in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
This coming Friday, the organization plans to unfurl the world’s largest American flag—the “Super Flag”—on the south lawn of Memorial Park in Omaha, in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.
“A year ago, we first heard about the Super Flag,” Williams said. “I thought, well, it’s the 250th, let’s make a big to-do out of it this year.”
The flag measures 250 feet by 505 feet and will require about 650 volunteers to help unfurl and raise it. Anyone interested in volunteering should arrive at Memorial Park at 6 p.m. Friday for training.
World-renowned Irish tenor Ronan Tynan will perform “God Bless America” as the flag is unfurled around 9 p.m., shortly after sunset, followed immediately by the National Anthem. The evening celebration will also feature a drone show with 400 red, white, and blue lights.
Williams hopes the moment will be captured in photos showing multiple generations participating.
“To me, that would be the money shot—generational,” he said. “Grandma, daughter, and grandchildren with their hands on the flag. Everybody should come: families, friends, grandparents. Bring your grandkids.”
On Memorial Day, the organization will host another event at Memorial Park. It will begin with a free pancake breakfast from Hy-Vee, followed by skydivers descending around 9:50 a.m. A procession of reenactors in chronological order—from the Revolutionary War to modern conflicts—will then walk across the lawn to the song “Fanfare for the Common Man,” marking the official opening.
Expected attendees include U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, and Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen. Omaha mayor John Ewing has also been invited.
Above all, Williams hopes the annual events will inspire a sense of pride in America among the nation’s youth.
“The whole idea,” he said, “is to get these young families to come so their children understand how lucky they are to be Americans—and what the meaning of Decoration Day, which we now call Memorial Day, truly is.”
More information is available on the group’s official website, patrioticproductions.org.
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.