An Infantryman from Hero Street tells the true story of Pvt. Joseph Sandoval who was born in a boxcar to Mexican immigrants in the Silvis, Illinois rail yard. In 1944 Joe, married with two young sons, was drafted and shipped to Britain with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment. His unit helped fight the second stage of the Normandy Invasion in France. In April 1945, the Allied forces reached an agreement regarding post-war Germany, and Joe and his fellow soldiers were told the war was essentially over. Joe was killed just days later during a German counter attack near the Elbe River in Schönebeck, Germany. In the two weeks that followed, U.S. and Russian troops shook hands across the Elbe, and Adolph Hitler committed suicide.
An Infantryman from Hero Street stars Emmanuel Juarez as Joseph Sandoval, Eric Juarez reprising his role as Joe’s brother Frank Sandoval, and actor Matt Walsh as Lt. Frank Houcek. The film features commentary by First Army Support Command Historian Captain Kevin Braafladt; Marc Wilson the author of “Hero Street, USA”; Carlos Harrison the author of "The Ghosts of Hero Street"; and members of the Sandoval family.
The film was funded in part by a grant from the Illinois Humanities, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Illinois General Assembly; a grant from the Moline Foundation; and, through its fiscal sponsor the Black Box Theatre, a Quad City Arts Dollars grant provided by Illinois Arts Council Agency, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and John Deere.
Special Features:
- Extended Interview Comments
- Premiere Event Photo Gallery
- Hero Street Film Series Teasers & Trailers
Art on the final DVD may differ from the image above.
$22 - PRE-ORDER (ships mid-February 2023) FREE U.S. Media Mail SHIPPING.
Riding the Rails to Hero Street, the first film in the Hero Street documentary series, tells the story of the immigrants’ early 1900s journey from Mexico, during the revolution, to Cook's Point in Davenport, Holy City in Bettendorf, Iowa, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad train yards and boxcar homes in Silvis, Illinois. The families of Hero Street experienced both acceptance and discrimination in their new community. Around the time of the great depression, the families were removed from the rail yards and some moved box cars or built new homes on 2nd Street in Silvis.
Interviews with family members, friends, veterans, community leaders and historians are combined with vintage photos, film, and archival materials to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance.
Only a block and a half long, the street lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. Hero Street, as it is now known, has provided over 100 service members since World War II.
Riding the Rails to Hero Street was funded in part by Humanities Iowa.
Special Features:
- Extended Interview Comments
- Premiere Event Photo Gallery
- Hero Street Film Series Teasers & Trailers
Art on the final DVD may differ from the image above.
$24 - FREE U.S. Media Mail SHIPPING.
A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street tells the story of William Sandoval. Born in a boxcar into an impoverished family of twelve, he joined the Army after Pearl Harbor was attacked and became a paratrooper. He survived several battles over the next two years, but was killed at age 21 in October 1944 following his involvement in what is still the largest air assault in history, the British-led Operation Market Garden. This battle was the basis for the Hollywood film “A Bridge Too Far.” The documentary will combine interviews with Sandoval family members and friends with archival photos, letters and documents to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance. The film will also feature an on-camera interview with military historian John C. McManus, the author of "September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far."
Only a block and a half long, the street lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. Hero Street, as it is now known, has provided over 100 service members since World War II.
A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street was funded in part by the Regional Development Authority, the Illinois Humanities, Quad City Arts. The documentary also received a grant from the Moline Foundation.
Special Features:
- Extended Interview Comments
- Premiere Event Photo Gallery 2
- Hero Street Film Series Teasers & Trailers
Art on the final DVD may differ from the image above.
$24 - FREE U.S. Media Mail SHIPPING.
Letters Home to Hero Street focuses on a young Mexican-American veteran's personal view of World War II as told through the letters he sent home to his family in Silvis, Illinois. He becomes one of eight veterans of WWII and the Korean War killed in combat from the same block-and-a half long neighborhood now called Hero Street, USA.
Frank Sandoval was just beginning a new job at the Rock Island Arsenal when he was drafted in 1942. He sent hundreds of letters to family and friends during the two years he was in the service and the 130 letters that remain tell the story of one man's dramatic and epic journey from Illinois to India. Killed on the bank of the Irrawaddy River in Burma on June 1944, Frank was one of the first of the Hero Street Eight to fall in combat.
Letters Home to Hero Street features Eric Juarez, Maya Chavez, Cindy Ramos and Josh Wielenga.
The film is a co-production between Fourth Wall Films and WQPT-PBS.
Letters was produced by Lora Adams, produced and written by Tammy Rundle, and directed by Kelly Rundle.
The film was partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
DVD Features
- Letters Home to Hero Street (25-minutes)
- Tanilo's Story - Honor Flight Featurette
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
- Film Trailer
$24 - FREE U.S. Media Mail SHIPPING.