Hero Street: A Historical Documentary Film Series

75th Anniversary of the End of World War II

Today, September 2, 2020, marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. We honor those men and women who served during that deadly six-year war.

Today we remember the 405,000+ military service personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting to restore peace in the world, among them six heroes from Hero Street, USA in Silvis, Illinois:

Sgt. Tony Pompa

PFC Frank Sandoval

Pvt. William Sandoval

Sgt. Claro Solis (Soliz)

PFC Peter Masias

PFC Joseph Sandoval

We will never forget...

 

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.

To order the DVD for Riding the Rails to Hero Street  or A Bridge too Far from Hero Street or Fourth Wall Films' Emmy-nominated and award-winning film Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT), CLICK HERE!

 

Special Presentation on Battle of the Bulge Dec. 16 at MHS Bartlett Performing Arts Center

Hero Street's Staff SGT Claro Solis (Soliz) served with Company E, 120th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division and was "killed in action" in Belgium on January 19, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.

Claro Solis (Soliz) of Hero Street, USA in Silvis, Illinois.

Mark your calendars for Monday, December 16th for a special FREE 75th Anniversary presentation on the Battle of the Bulge at Moline High School's Bartlett Performing Arts Center, 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline, Illinois.  1st LT Kevin Braafladt of the U.S. Army is the guest speaker.

The event is sponsored by the Moline High School History Club and the Moline Preservation Society.

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 or A Bridge too Far from Hero Street (release date June 2020) or Fourth Wall Films' award-winning film Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT), CLICK HERE!

Frank Sandoval 99 September 5th

P.F.C. Frank Sandoval would have turned 99 on September 5, 2019. He entered the U.S. Army on October 3, 1942. He served in North Burma with Co. C 209 Engineer Combat Battalion.

Frank was listed as "killed in action" on June 26, 1944. His brother Joe died in Germany 10 months later.

Frank Sandoval was one of the Hero Street Eight who sacrificed everything for his country. He is one of approximately 200 military men and women who have served from the block-and-a-half street in Silvis, Illinois now known as Hero Street, USA.

Frank Sandoval's story, told through letters he wrote home to his family during his military service, is featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary "Letters Home to Hero Street", a Fourth Wall Films and WQPT co-production.  Frank was portrayed by Eric Juarez in the film.

To order the award-winning film on DVD online, click HERE. It is also available at Porkie's Restaurant, 130 1st Ave, Silvis, Illinois.

Frank Sandoval's "Sis"

Maya Chavez as "Sis" in Letters Home to Hero Street.
Copyright Fourth Wall Films.

People often ask us, who was Frank Sandoval's sister in Letters Home to Hero Street, as portrayed by actress Maya Chavez?

Frank Sandoval came from a large family of ten children--he had five brothers and four sisters.  The film's "Sis" is a composite of two of Frank's sisters: Georgia Sandoval Herrera and Jennie Sandoval Garcia.

While serving in the Army, Frank wrote numerous letters and sent them home to his sisters who would then read the missives to their parents in Spanish.

Frank's mother, Angelina, kept his letters wrapped lovingly in a blue scarf with ribbons tied around the large stack to keep them safe. It was obvious they were precious to her.  

Now in her possession, Georgia untied the bundle and shared the yellowed correspondence for use in the documentary Letters Home to Hero Street.  She also showed us a photograph of herself as a young girl.  That photograph was the image used to create Maya's "Sis" for the film.

Georgia Sandoval.    Copyright Georgia Herrera.

Jennie also received approximately 30-40 letters from Frank during his military service.  The letters were discovered by her daughters after she passed away, and were shared with us for the documentary project.

Jennie's daughter Thomasa shared a rare photograph of a young Jennie posing with her brother Frank in front of a box-car home on 2nd Street (Hero Street) in Silvis, Illinois, during his only furlough. It was the last time Jennie saw her brother.

Jennie Sandoval and her brother Frank on Hero Street in Silvis, 1943.  Copyright Jennie Garcia family.

These special images bring Frank's story to life and we can hear his voice through his letters.  Our thanks to Georgia Herrera and to Jennie Garcia's family for sharing their photographs and Frank's personal letters with us, and allowing us to glimpse so clearly his love for his family back home.

The award-winning Letters Home to Hero Street by Fourth Wall Films and WQPT is available on DVD at Amazon.com, and in the Quad Cities at The Book Rack, The Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, and at Porkie’s Restaurant on the corner of Hero Street in Silvis, Illinois.