"A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street: William Sandoval's Story" screens Sept. 30 at Davenport Library--Fairmount Branch

Willie Sandoval, portrait by artist Bruce Walters.

The award-winning documentary “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street: William Sandoval's Story" will screen on Tuesday evening, September 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 Emmy award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. 

“A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street" follows William Sandoval's journey from a boxcar in Silvis, Illinois to a battle in a forest in Holland. Born into an impoverished family of twelve, Willie performed migrant farm work alongside his parents and siblings until his father took a job with the Rock Island Railroad.

The largest daytime air assault of World War II was Operation Market Garden, Sept. 17, 1944. William Sandoval was among them.

Answering a call to service following the attack on Pearl Harbor, PVT William Sandoval served in the U.S. Army's Co. F, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He survived several battles over the next two years (Salerno, Anzio), and Operation Market Garden, the largest air assault in history*. He was killed at age 21 in October 1944. 

The film features interviews with military historian John C. McManus, the author of "September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far", Marc Wilson, the author of "Hero Street, USA", and Willie’s brother Ruben, and his sister Rufina Sandoval Guerrero, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

Eight sons of Mexican immigrants from the block-and-a-half long 2nd Street in Silvis, Illinois were killed in combat in World War II and Korea--more lost than any other street in America. The street was renamed Hero Street in 1968.

The Rundles’ “Hero Street” multi-part documentary series explores the personal and family sagas behind each of the eight heroes from Silvis, Illinois and tells the compelling true story of an ongoing effort to memorialize them. 

The Rundles partnered with WQPT-PBS to produce the Mid-America Emmy-nominated "Letters Home to Hero Street" which tells Hero Frank Sandoval’s story and was the first film created for the series. “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street” is part 3 in the series. The newest film in the series, “The Last to Fall from Hero Street”, tells Hero John Munos’ story and will premiere November 8 on the Putnam Giant Screen during Veterans Day weekend.

*This special screening marks the 81st anniversary of Operation Market Garden, which took place September 17 to 25, 1944.