“Hero Street” Documentaries to be Shown in Silvis, Davenport for Hispanic Heritage Month
Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films will present their Emmy-nominated “Hero Street” Documentary Film Series for two special Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations.
The filmmakers will screen four parts from their documentary series, and excerpts from their new film “The Last to Fall from Hero Street: John Muños’ Story” on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the McGehee Center, Schadt Park, 1043-4th Avenue, Silvis. A Q&A with the Rundles will take place during the event. The film program is hosted by the Silvis Library.
The award-winning documentary “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street: William Sandoval’s Story” will screen on Tuesday evening, Sept. 30th at the Davenport Public Library — Fairmount Branch, 3000 N. Fairmount St., Davenport. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Q&A with the Rundles.
September 17-25 marks the 81st anniversary of Operation Market Garden–the largest daytime air assault of World War II, involving over 35,000 Allied troops dropping into the Netherlands to capture key bridges for a land advance into Germany. Hero Street’s William Sandoval was among them.
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.
“Hero Street,” a multi-part documentary series by Fourth Wall Films, explores the compelling true story of eight Mexican-American heroes from Hero Street, USA in Silvis: Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Solis, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños.
The Silvis program will feature “Riding the Rails to Hero Street” (Pt. 1), “Letters Home to Hero Street: Frank Sandoval’s Story (Pt. 2), “A Bridge too Far from Hero Street: William Sandoval’s Story” (Pt. 3), and “An Infantryman from Hero Street: Joseph Sandoval’s Story” (Pt. 4). Each film is 27 minutes long.
Fourth Wall Films shot of the Hero Street Monument in Silvis, Ill.
The Davenport-Fairmount event features the story of Hero Street’s Pvt. William Sandoval who served in the U.S. Army’s Co. F, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He survived several major battles during his two years of service during WWII, including Salerno, Anzio, and Operation Market Garden, the largest air assault in history. He was killed at age 21 in October 1944.
The Rundles newest film in the series, “The Last to Fall from Hero Street: John Muños Story,” will premiere Nov. 8, 2025 on the Putnam Museum’s Giant Screen, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport.
Emmanuel Juarez as Joe Sandoval in “An Infantryman from Hero Street.”
The “Hero Street” Documentary Film Series was funded in part by grants from The Ontiveros Family Endowed Fund, Quad Cities Community Foundation; The Marc & Virginia Wilson Family Fund, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado; the Illinois Humanities, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Illinois General Assembly; through the Arts Dollars re-granting program supported by The Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency, The Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, the Quad Cities Community Foundation – Isabel Bloom Art Education Endowment; the Moline Foundation; the Regional Development Authority; and the Mexican American Veterans Association – Hero Street USA Chapter IV.
For more information, visit the Fourth Wall website HERE.
Eric Juarez as Frank Sandoval in “Letters Home to Hero Street,” Emmy nominated co-production by Fourth Wall Films and WQPT.
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