Vietnam Veteran J. Kimo Williams developed and created The Names of Those (TNOT), a 20-hour video that scrolls names alphabetically by State of every military service member who died due to their service during the Vietnam War. Kimo states, "We should always be cognizant of those who lost their lives in service to the country.
As an “eternal flame” is used to commemorate a person or event of national significance, and as Webster defines it, "a small fire that is kept burning as a symbol to show that something will never end." TNOT is an “eternal scroll” of names - a Memoriam to those lives lost. The goal of this video is to provide a unique visual perspective of each service member's name, which, according to the National Archives, is considered a casualty directly related to their service in the Vietnam War. Public Law No: 115-15, Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017, officially designated by Congress on March 29th as the official day to recognize Vietnam Veterans and their service to the country.
To scroll all 58,220 names is estimated to take 20 hours. A total of 20 hours is needed in that the speed of the scroll needs to be slow enough to be read. The names are presented alphabetically by State and the service member's name with the official date of death. Each name has an associated timestamp (visible on screen) that will forever be associated with that name and searchable (when virtually presented) utilizing the timeline scroll bar.
The music for this video was composed by J. Kimo Williams and includes his award-winning compositions, Symphony For The Sons of Nam, Fanfare For Life, and American Soldier/Buffalo Soldier. It is looped continuously as all 58,220 names are presented. For the music associated with American Soldiers, actor Gary Sinise provides the oratory written by Army Veteran and textile artist Carol Williams.
A video timeline breakdown is provided for the 20-hour version, a two-part (day) version, and a three-part (day) version by clicking [HERE]
