The Quad Cities community is invited on Wednesday, Oct. 12, to help rededicate Silvis’ Hero Street and showcase two new steel stars crafted by John Deere Harvester Works employees to be placed in front of the homes of the Hero Street 8.
Dignitaries and speakers at the 4 p.m. event at the Hero Street Monument and Memorial Park, 145 2nd St, Silvis, include:
- Silvis Mayor Matt Carter or City Administrator Nevada Lemke.
- Felicia Knary of the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Achievement (HOLA).
- Kevin Blount of the Military Employee Resource Group (MERG).
- Brian Sandoval, a member of the Hispanic/Latino Leadership Council (HLLC).
- And descendants of the Hero Street 8.
Members of the Mexican American Veterans Association (MAVA) will serve as the color guard and present the colors, conduct a salute, and perform taps before the ceremony.
Silvis’ Hero Street honors the unprecedented sacrifice and service of the young men and women from Second Street – now known as Hero Street – who served their nation. According to the Hero Street website, “In the annals of military history nowhere is there a street of comparable size that has contributed so many sons and daughters to serve their country as have the people of Hero Street USA.”
The young men known as the Hero Street 8 who gave the ultimate sacrifice were: Peter Macias, Tony Pompa, Frank Sandoval, Claro Soliz, Joe Sandoval, William Sandoval, Johnny Munos, and Joseph Gomez.
The new stars being celebrated Wednesday were laser cut and painted at East Moline’s John Deere Harvester Works and are replacing painted stars on the street that are currently used to identify the homes where the Hero Street 8 grew up.
The painted stars originally were a project created by an art class at United Township High School, East Moline. The steel stars will serve as a more permanent marker. The City of Silvis helped get permission from the current homeowners to place the new steel stars in front of the homes.
