Riding the Rails to Hero Street

26 min   |   ENGLISH   |  Documentary

Riding the Rails to Hero Street, the first film in the Hero Street documentary series, tells the story of the immigrants’ early 1900s journey from Mexico, during the revolution, to Cook's Point in Davenport, Holy City in Bettendorf, Iowa, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad train yards and boxcar homes in Silvis, Illinois. The families of Hero Street experienced both acceptance and discrimination in their new community. Around the time of the great depression, the families were removed from the rail yards and some moved box cars or built new homes on 2nd Street in Silvis.

Interviews with family members, friends, veterans, community leaders and historians are combined with vintage photos, film, and archival materials to tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character and perseverance. Only a block and a half long, the street 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 nearly 200 service members since World War II.