The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park continues its Date with History series with acclaimed author Carlos Harrison on Thursday, September 1, at 7 pm CT. He will discuss his 2014 book, “The Ghosts of Hero Street: How One Small Mexican-American Community Gave So Much in World War II and Korea.”
The presentation is offered in person and online. For the in-person program at the Cantigny Park Visitors Center (free with $5 parking), registration is not required. Online viewers must register in advance at FDMuseum.org to receive a Zoom link.
Harrison’s book tells the story of Mexican-American families from a small street in Silvis, Illinois, who sent 57 of their children to fight in World War II and Korea—more than any other location of that size in the entire United States. Eight of the soldiers never returned home. The distinction was recognized by the Department of Defense, earning the obscure unpaved road a name: Hero Street.
Despite their heroic service to the nation, the returning soldiers faced a battle for acceptance at home. “The Ghosts of Hero Street” is the inspiring account of soldiers from a single Midwestern community who would not be denied their dignity or honor.
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Carlos Harrison is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, editor, and writer of more than a dozen books in English and Spanish. A former national and international network television correspondent, he has also written two television documentaries and seven feature-length screenplays, as well as hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles. The First Division Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, with extended hours on Tuesday evenings in the summer. Admission is free with paid parking ($5 per car weekdays; $10 weekends). Visit FDMuseum.org for additional details. |
About the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park
The First Division Museum, part of the Chicago-based Robert R. McCormick Foundation and located at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois, promotes public learning about America’s military heritage and affairs through the history of the “Big Red One”—the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum’s main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II, and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID’s history in more recent times. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum’s library, archival and photo collections. Outside, tanks from every era are interpreted, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Solemn memorial markers and commemorative statuary pay further tribute to those who served. For more information, visit FDMuseum.org.