Customer Reviews

Hero Street, U.S.A.: The Story of Little Mexico's Fallen Soldiers

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(Former) Associated Press news executive Wilson looks at a single block in Silvis, Ill., and the families who sacrificed their sons to combat deaths in World War II and Korea. Little understood in America, the Mexican Revolution accounted for millions of deaths between 1910 and 1920 and the emigration of another million Mexicans to the United States. A sizable community ended up in Silvis, working for the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, living in boxcars, weathering the Great Depressions and enduring numerous violent labor-management disputes. Many of the families later moved to Second Street -- an area of town known as Little Mexico--and from this tight-knit pocket of poverty they sent their sons to war. Out of the 78 who served, eight died, likely "the most from any single block in America." All the boys were indifferently schooled, most of them boxed a little, all shared a fierce patriotism. Notwithstanding his dogged interviewing, Wilson never quite fleshes out each of these cruelly foreshortened lives. Taken together, however, the stories deal less with individuals and with war than they do with a special community. Wilson successfully ties together the history of the refugee families with the history that their children helped to make in faraway battlefields in Europe and Asia. Little Mexico's surviving soldiers returned to a country where bigotry and prejudice against Hispanics was still widespread. That prejudice lasted until the later '60s, when local officials finally agreed that Second Street embodied something quite remarkable, a level of service and sacrifice worthy of the designation "Hero Street." An appropriate tribute to the men who died and a fitting appreciation of the neighborhood they so distinguished.

Second Street in Silvis, Illinois, was an impoverished neighborhood; during the Great Depression, it became home to Mexican immigrants escaping a revolution in their homeland. During World War II, it suffered the highest per-capita casualty rate, and was renamed "Hero Street" to reflect the ultimate sacrifice made by its citizens. In "Hero Street USA", journalist Marc Wilson examines the true story of these Mexican-Americans who fought and died in World War II, drawing upon soldiers' letters, interviews with relatives, firsthand combat accounts, and more. Examining the struggles of nearly eighty men from three dozen Second Street homes who volunteered to fight for their nation in World War II and Korea, Hero Street USA is an invaluable reminder of the contributions and sacrifices Mexican-Americans have made for this great nation. Highly recommended.

Marc did a wonderful job of telling this story. It is hard to imagine the tough lives these families endured with the hope of attaining what most of us take for granted - solid standing as U.S. citizens. This book has made me more aware of the "invisible" families that I come in contact with every day.

This book is garbage and is a complete disrespect to those who know the true story and uniqueness of Hero Street USA. For starters, there are 8 soldiers that have been memorialized on this block with numerous plaques, awards, brochures, literature, documentaries, and The Hero Street Monument itself. So why would only four of them be on the cover? Then, the names are incorrect as well to which the pictures do not match up. To top it off, the information in the book itself contains an abundant amount of inconsistencies and non-factual statements. This book is joke and is another classic example of trying to make money off something which has been told correctly generation after generation.
If you want the real history and story take it upon yourself to get information first hand from those relatives still living or take the trip to see The Hero Street Monument itself. There, one will get the stories that have been told and will continue to be told word of mouth, for generations to come.
I wanted to give this "0" stars but in order for it to take my review I had to at least give it "1" star.