Global Peace Initiative searched the world for an entire year for the right artist for the job and commissioned Zoya to complete the 21-foot monument.

She’s been busy working on a massive monument for the war-torn Middle East, and this weekend, she will unveil the maquette – a smaller scale of what’s to come.

Martin Vernon, a Navy corpsman killed in 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, is added to the Cornerstone of Peace monument at Okinawa Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, May 26, 2025.