The Last to Fall from Hero Street, a new episode in the multi-part documentary series by Emmy® award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, tells the story of of John Muños of Silvis, Illinois. The film profiles his family’s escape from Mexico during the Revolution, and their new life in a boxcar village where his father worked for the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. The Muños family was one of several families who moved their boxcar to 2nd Street in Silvis, and built a home around it. Homes made from boxcars, alongside conventional homes, still line Hero Street today.
After being drafted into the Army, John quickly married his sweetheart Mary Louise Bessera before he shipped out to Korea. On August 27, 1951, John was among 740 Americans killed in the Battle of Bloody Ridge. His body was never recovered.
Interviews with family members, friends, Veterans, community leaders and historians combined with vintage photos and film, and archival materials tell an unforgettable story of American courage, character, perseverance and legacy.
Only a block and a half long, Hero Street lost six young men during World War II and two in the Korean War, more than any other street in America. More than 100 have served from Hero Street from World War II to the present day. The nine-part documentary series “Hero Street” explores the compelling true story of eight young Mexican-American men from Hero Street, USA in Silvis, Illinois: Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, William Sandoval, Claro Solis, Peter Masias, Joseph Sandoval, Joseph Gomez and John S. Muños. John was the last to fall.