Hero Street: A Historical Documentary Film Series

Christina Hernandez honors her grandfather Joe Gomez in "A World Away from Hero Street"

Christina Hernandez never met her grandfather Joe Gomez. Her mother, Linda Gomez Diaz, was just a year and a half old when he died serving with Co. K 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War. It was not easy to sit down in front of the camera and talk about the loss of him for Fourth Wall Films' new documentary "A World Away from Hero Street: Joe Gomez's Story". It is slated for release in 2026.

"I wanted to step up and do the interview to honor him," Christina said. "I felt it was important, and I am glad I did it." 

She found a box of photographs, letters, and documents her grandmother Alvina left her before she passed away. Alvina was Joe's young wife, and Christina heard stories of how anxious Joe was to return home to see his baby girl, Linda. Included in the collection was the Telegram informing the family of Joe's death. He was killed on May 28th, 1951 during an intense battle on Hill 800--called "Bunker Hill". It was an emotional moment relived as Christina read the Telegram out loud.

P.F.C. Joe Gomez is buried in Rock Island National Cemetery. He was awarded a Silver Star posthumously on September 28, 1951 for gallant action against the enemy. V.F.W Ybarra-Gomez Post 8890 in East Moline, Illinois is named in his honor.

Only a block and a half long, Second Street in Silvis, Illinois 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 Mexican-American immigrants settled there in 1929.

Filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle with Christina Hernandez, center.

Hero Street, a multi-part documentary series by Emmy®  Award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, will explore the compelling true story of eight heroes: Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Solis, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and five-time Emmy® winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois. For more information visit HeroStreetMovie.com. Truth First Film Alliance, Inc. serves as the fiscal sponsor on the Hero Street documentary series project.

History, Mystery and Heroes, the Perfect Gift for the Holidays

#ShopSmall for Movies That Matter from Kelly Rundle on Vimeo.

It's that time of the year! Don't forget Fourth Wall Films' award-winning documentaries from the Hero Street film series, and our other Emmy nominated and Emmy award-winning films make the perfect gift for your loved one this holiday season. As always, we offer FREE shipping, and FREE gift wrap and gift message/signed DVD upon request for a memorable and personalized gift.

THANK YOU for supporting our ongoing American history film work through your Holiday purchase! https://fourthwallfilms.com/

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

QC Brothers to Portray Brothers in New Hero Street Documentary

Brothers Emmanuel and Eric Juarez.

Brothers Emmanuel and Eric Juarez will star as brothers Joseph and Frank Sandoval in An Infantryman from Hero Street, part four in the Hero Street documentary series produced by Fourth Wall Films.

“We are very pleased to have Manny portray hero Joseph Sandoval, and Eric reprising his role as hero Frank Sandoval (Letters Home to Hero Street) for this important new chapter of the historical documentary series,” said director Kelly Rundle.

An Infantryman from Hero Street tells the true story of Pvt. Joseph Sandoval, who was born in a boxcar in the Silvis, Illinois rail yard to Mexican immigrants. Joe’s brother Frank went off to war in 1942. In 1944, Joe—now married with two young children--was drafted and shipped to Britain with the 41^st Armored Infantry Regiment. His unit helped fight the second stage of the Normandy Invasion in France.

News of his brother Frank’s death near the Irrawaddy River in Burma reached Joe by letter. In April 1945, the Allies reached an agreement regarding post-war Germany, and Joe and his fellow soliders were told the war was essentially “over”. On April 14, 1945 Joe was killed during a German counter attack near the Elbe River in Schönebeck, Germany. Two weeks later Adolph Hitler committed suicide.

An Infantryman From Hero Street also features commentary by Captain Kevin Braafladt, First Army Support Command Historian; Dr. Yurida Ramirez, Professor of Latin American Studies, University of Illinois-Urbana; author Marc Wilson “Hero Street, USA”; and members of the Joe and Frank Sandoval family, including Tanilo Sandoval, Georgia Sandoval Herrera, and Irene Mawson.

 “They gave their lives to preserve our freedom,” said Captain Braafladt. “It would be their hope, and the hope of their families, to have their service and stories remembered.”

An Infantryman from Hero Street 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; 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. Jennie's Boxcar is a proud sponsor of the film project.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this incredible documentary project along side my brother,” said Emmanuel. “I am very excited to play the role of hero Joe Sandoval.”

Emmanuel is a Quad Cities business owner, DJ, and Emcee. He and his brother Eric are the co-founders of Prestige Productions and Café Luci, a mobil Mexican café and catering service.

Eric portrayed Frank Sandoval in the Mid-America Emmy® nominated documentary Letters Home to Hero Street, co-produced by Fourth Wall Films and WQPT-PBS. Riding the Rails to Hero Street and A Bridge too Far from Hero Street premiered on the Putnam Museum National Geographic Giant Screen in 2019.

“It’s such an amazing story,” said Eric. “I always think about how we’re not really too different from the Sandoval brothers. The only thing that separates us is time.”

Only a block and a half long, Hero Street in Silvis, Illinois lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. Hero Street has provided nearly 200 American military service members since World War II. More than 500,000 Latinos served in WWII.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and Regional Emmy®-nominated independent film production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.

Sandoval relatives travel cross country to attend 'Hero Street' documentary premiere

Musician Joe Soliz plays "America the Beautiful" to a sold-out premiere of Fourth Wall Films' Riding the Rails to Hero Street and A Bridge too Far from Hero Street at the Putnam Museum.

By Jonathan Turner
Dispatch-Argus
November 11, 2019

Fifty family members of Silvis veteran Willie Sandoval were among the 300 people who attended Sunday's premiere of two documentaries related to Hero Street, at the Putnam Giant Screen Theater.

“It brought me to tears seeing that reaction afterward, seeing these incredible people and incredible heroes get their due,” filmmaker Tammy Rundle, of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films, said Monday.

Relatives of Sandoval (killed in World War II at age 21) came from as far as Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado, and Indiana to see his story – “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street” – and the companion prologue “Riding The Rails to Hero Street.” After the first showing, the audience gave Tammy and her husband Kelly a standing ovation.

“I liked it a lot,” Rufina Guerrero (Willie's 95-year-old sister) said Sunday of the films. “All of my brothers were heroes.” She and her brother Ruben (who died in 2018 at age 95) were interviewed on film by the Rundles. Ruben enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1943 and was honorably discharged in 1946.

"They've done a great job,” Maria Solis – a niece of Claro Solis, one of the Hero Street eight, also interviewed on film, said Sunday of the Rundles. “They've given us a voice, and I appreciate that. This would have never happened without them, and it would have never happened without the first person that ever wrote about Hero Street.”

Tanilo Sandoval, Joe Terronez, Maria Solis and Rufina Sandoval Guerrero.

That name was given by her friend, 18-year-old John Ponciano in 1954. “He was a high school senior and at that time, he and his brother Joe got together and they saw what we didn't – the fact that there were eight boys on this street that had been killed in action and that we should acknowledge, to change the name 2nd Street to Hero Street.”

Isidro “John” Ponciano (who died in 2011 at 74) wrote about the topic for a high-school project. The story then appeared in the Labor Daily, a now-defunct newspaper from East Moline. The article, which first suggested the name Hero Street, eventually became known nationwide. The street's name was officially changed in 1968.

Only a block and a half long, Second Street in Silvis lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. Hero Street has provided over 100 service members since Mexican-American immigrants settled there in 1929 ("Riding the Rails" tells of that exodus from Mexico).

“Willie was a no-mess-around, good kid,” said Tanilo Sandoval, brother of the subject of the Rundles' “Letters Home to Hero Street” (a 2015 co-production with WQPT), Frank Sandoval (no relation to Willie), noting Willie and his brother Ruben were local boxing champions.

 

“We didn't have any sewage or electricity,” Tanilo said. “We had a dirt floor in the basement.”

“I couldn't understand that 4th Street, two blocks away from Hero Street, 4th Street had running water and sewer,” Joe Terronez, former Silvis mayor, said Sunday. “There was only one way we're gonna straighten this out and we'd get together, and we'd better start fighting. We're not gonna fight city hall from the outside; we've gotta get inside.”

Terronez served 26 years as a city alderman and four years as mayor. “Hero Street, I knew all the boys,” he recalled.

“I grew up on Hero Street. We were one family. Everyone knew everyone,” Solis said. “Everyone helped everyone. We all worked together. It was unlike anything else. To go outside Hero Street was like another world."

Tanilo Sandoval, Joe Terronez, Maria Solis, Rufina Sandoval Guerrero, David Serrano, Sr., Dr. Brian Behnken and filmmaker Kelly Rundle (and Tammy Rundle--not pictured) took part in a panel discussion following the films.

Kelly Rundle, who grew up in the Q-C, graduated United Township High School in '77 having never heard about the street. “That's how it was. I'm not proud of it," he said. 

The planned 10-part Hero Street documentary series (including one episode for each hero) is meant to rectify that. The two new episodes will be shown on WQPT-TV on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. 

In September 1944, Willie Sandoval was part of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. In the wake of the successful D-Day operation, the plan was for Allied forces to capture strategically important bridges in the Netherlands, creating a path to strike at the heart of Germany.

Through its fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation, the Hero Street documentary film series received partial funding from the Regional Development Authority (RDA), Illinois Arts Council, the Illinois Humanities, Humanities Iowa, National Endowment for the Humanities, Quad City Arts Dollars—provided by Illinois Arts Council Agency, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and John Deere, the Quad Cities Community Foundation, LULAC Iowa, Mexican American Veterans Association, the City of Silvis, and individual contributors. The project also received a production grant from the Moline Foundation. The views and opinions expressed by these films do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated independent film production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.

TO ORDER the DVD for Riding the Rails to Hero Street, the Emmy-nominated and award-winning film Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT), or A Bridge too Far from Hero Street (release date June 2020) CLICK HERE!

 

Two new Hero Street films to screen Nov. 10 at Putnam

By Jonathan Turner
Dispatch-Argus

Two new films in the Fourth Wall Films' Hero Street documentary series will premiere on the eve of Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Putnam National Geographic Giant Screen in Davenport.

“A World Away From Hero Street” (William Sandoval's story) and “Riding the Rails to Hero Street” will start at 3 p.m., with a panel discussion following the film presentation.

“A World Away” tells the story of World War II paratrooper William Sandoval of Silvis, who took part in Operation Market Garden — still the largest air assault in history.

Only a block and a half long, Second Street in Silvis 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 known, has provided over 200 service members since Mexican-American immigrants settled there in 1929.

“Hero Street,” a planned 10-part documentary series by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, will explore the personal and family sagas behind each of the eight heroes and tell the compelling true story of an ongoing struggle to memorialize Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Soliz, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños, according to HeroStreetMovie.com.

The series will combine interviews with family members, friends, veterans, community leaders and historians with vintage photos, film and archival materials to tell an “unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance,” the site says.

READ MORE HERE.

To order Fourth Wall Films' award-winning films, including "Letters Home to Hero Street" (co-produced with WQPT) on DVD, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

"Letters Home to Hero Street" Awarded Grant from Illinois Arts Council

 

WQPT, Quad Cities PBS, has been awarded $30,000 from the Illinois Arts Council for the creation of a new documentary “Letters Home to Hero Street.”  The film will deal with correspondence from Hero Street soldiers to their families as they fought and died in World War II and the Korean conflict.

 

 

“We are so pleased to receive the grant because it allows us to create a documentary on a topic that is near and dear to our community,” said WQPT General Manager Mary Pruess.

 

The project is being conducted in cooperation with Fourth Wall Films, headed by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle.

 

“I am excited to be working with the Rundles. We have aired all of their documentaries and they always create compelling films that are beautiful and well researched,” said Director of Local Content Lora Adams.

 

The documentary will be completed by the end of the year and will air on WQPT in early 2015.

 

WQPT, Quad Cities PBS, is a media service of Western Illinois University in Moline, Illinois.

 

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning film and video production company specializing in historical documentaries for public television broadcast and DVD home video.

Tanilo Sandoval's Honor Flight Filmed for "Hero Street" Documentary

Tanilo Sandoval poses with family members after the return from his Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, September 20, 2012 Tanilo Sandoval joined 100 veterans and 60 Guardians (many of them Gold Star Families who lost a loved one during war) to take his Honor Flight from the Quad Cities to Washington, D.C.  He went, he said, because his brothers Frank and Joseph Sandoval, could not.

Tanilo grew up on the block-and-a-half-long 2nd Street in Silvis, Illinois.  The street later named Hero Street, U.S.A. lost six young men in World War II and two in the Korean War -- more than any other street in America.  Frank and Joseph Sandoval were among them.  

Hero Street, a new documentary by Emmy nominated® filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, will combine interviews with family members, veterans, community leaders, friends and historians with vintage photos, film and archival material to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character, and perseverance. 

The Rundles were at the Quad Cities International Airport at 5:15 that September morning filming Tanilo's arrival with his Guardian escorting him to the 20th Honor Flight Quad Cities boarding area.  

He returned at 10:15 p.m. after a full and emotional day of visiting memorials dedicated to honoring the veterans for their service and sacrifice.  Tanilo and those honored were welcomed home by the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders, and a packed airport of applauding family, friends and people who wanted to simply say "thank you for your service!"

In addition to the Honor Flight, preliminary on-camera interviews and a Hero Street Memorial Day Service have been shot for the feature-length documentary, which is slated for release in 2014.