We are pleased to announce that Letters Home to Hero Street is part of a new PBS Learning Media classroom resource that will be available to teachers throughout the United States. Letters Home tells Frank Sandoval's World War II story through letters he sent home to his family in Silvis, Illinois between 1942 and 1944. The film is a co-production between Fourth Wall Films and WQPT-PBS, both based in Moline, Illinois.
The resource was made possible by generous donations from Bob Ontiveros, Matthew Casillas, LULAC Council No. 10 of Davenport and Darryl Morin. We are also grateful to the Sandoval family for sharing Frank's letters for this resource and for the Letters Home documentary film.
The Letters Home film is accompanied by three lesson plans, and facsimiles and transcripts of three of Frank Sandoval's original letters. The new resource is aimed at Junior and Senior High School students. Teachers can access the resource via the national PBS Learning Media website.
One of the lesson plans results in letters written by students to soldiers serving overseas through the Operation Gratitude program. Another leads students through the process of designing a War Memorial for Mexican-American Medal of Honor recipients.
PBS LearningMedia provides access to thousands of free, innovative, standards-aligned and curriculum-targeted digital resources, and now Letters Home to Hero Street is among them. The curriculum was created with the help of Illinois Public Media -- WILL-PBS.
Letters Home to Hero Street received a Mid America EMMY nomination and the Silver Eddy and Audience Award at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. It also received the Second Place Audience Award at the Muscatine Independent Film Festival and recently screened as an Official Selection at the 2016 Borrego Springs Independent Film Festival in California.
Frank Sandoval entered the U.S. Army in 1942. He served in North Burma with Co. C 209 Engineer Combat Battalion. He was listed as "killed in action" near the Irrawaddy River on June 26, 1944. His older brother Joe was killed in Germany on April 14, 1945. The Sandovals are two among eight who died from Second Street in Silvis, Illinois. In 1969 the street was renamed Hero Street to honor the eight lost in World War II and the Korean War.
Letters Home to Hero Street was produced by Lora Adams (WQPT) and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films) and directed by Kelly Rundle (Fourth Wall Films). The film starred Eric Juarez, Maya Chavez, Cindy Ramos and Joshua Wielenga. The cinematographer on the documentary was Chris Ryder (WQPT) and production assistance was provided by Melinda Carriker.
Letters Home to Hero Street can be purchased online here: Fourth Wall Films DVDs
The film is also available via Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Home-Hero-Street-Juarez/dp/B00SOYY8SE/
You can stream Letters Home to Hero Street online here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/lettershome
WQPT-PBS is a media service of Western Illinois University.
Fourth Wall Films is an independent film production and distribution company based in Moline, Illinois.
This is so wonderful! Thank you for supporting the troops with this new curriculum.
Posted by: Operation Gratitude | 02/05/2016 at 08:53 AM