“An Infantryman from Hero Street,” a new documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, will screen on the 81st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.
The film will be shown Wednesday, Dec. 7th (Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day) at 12 noon at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st Street, Moline. A Q&A with the Rundles and film participants will follow the film.
“An Infantryman from Hero Street,” the fourth episode in the “Hero Street” documentary series, tells the true story of Pvt. Joseph Sandoval, who was born in a boxcar to Mexican immigrants in the Silvis 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 Adolf Hitler committed suicide.
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 now known, has provided over 150 service members since Mexican-American immigrants settled there in 1929.
“Hero Street,” a multi-part documentary series by Moline-based Fourth Wall Films, explores the compelling true story of eight Mexican-American heroes from Hero Street: Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Solis, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños.
“An Infantryman from Hero Street” — which premiered over Veterans Day weekend at the Putnam Giant Screen Theater — 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, Rock Island Arsenal; Dr. Yurida Ramirez, University of Illinois-Urbana; author Marc Wilson (“Hero Street, USA”); author Carlos Harrison (“The Ghosts of Hero Street”); and members of the Sandoval family.
The “Hero Street” theme music was scored by Emmy-nominated composer William Campbell of Davenport. WQPT-PBS provided its broadcast studio for filming portions of the documentary. WQPT’s Lora Adams assisted with production, and Chris Ryder created special visual and sound effects.
WQPT previously partnered with Fourth Wall Films in 2015 to co-produce the Mid-America Emmy nominated “Letters Home to Hero Street.”
For more information, visit the Hero Street films website.