IN MEMORIAM
Since 2028 over 10 million people have perished in Daikaiju related incidents. These are just a few of the lives that were cut tragically short.
Defenders of Earth
Honoring those who gave their lives protecting humanity.
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Yvonne Hawkins, DPhil,
January 30, 1977- August 2, 2034
Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Dr. Hawkins had always been drawn to the natural world, however, it was during a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London that her passion for monsters was born. When her class was brought to the hall of dinosaurs, all her peers pleaded to leave, scared of the Tyrannosaurus's ferocious grin, but not Hawkins. She grinned back at the beast, awed by its regal form. So lost in thought she missed both her tour group leaving and the closing of the Museum. It was not till the next morning when her panicked mother found her, asleep under the Dinosaur's watchful eye.
Receiving her MSCI (Hons) in Ecology from the University College of London and her DPhil from Oxford University in Paleontology at age of 23, Dr. Hawkins eventually became the department chair. Never planning on leaving Academia, her life dramatically changed in 2012, when YOKAI reached out, asking for her expertise.
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Quickly rising the ranks and becoming head of G-team, YOKAI's defunct Gojira monitoring task force, Dr. Hawkins' was put to the ultimate test in 2028 when Gojira, a creature she deeply cared about, seemingly turned its back on humanity. Aiding in stopping his rampage, Dr. Hawkins headed Gojira's containment efforts and was for the first time forced into the public eye.
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A controversial figure for her trust in Gojira, in the end, Dr. Hawkins was proved right about nearly all her predictions. While her life was horrifically cut short by a man with hate in his heart, some solace can be taken in what she said to reporters months prior.
"I have lived a life beyond anything that little girl in the Natural History Museum could have dreamed of."
World-changers
Honoring those who shaped this time of monsters
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Featured
Daisuke Serizawa, PhD
October 12, 1970- July 22, 2028
Born in Shinagawa City, Tokyo Japan, Dr. Serizawa grew up in a very different time than his parents. Instead of being forced into the battlefield, Dr. Serizawa had the luxury to pursue his interests in the sciences, eventually receiving his MSCI (Hons) in Biochemistry from Tokyo National University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT.
As a child Serizawa remembers his dad regularly screaming in the middle of the night, haunted by the memory of black rain. Much like how that stuck to his father's skin, and soaked deep in his lungs, forming into cancerous polyps, the emotional toll of Hiroshima was deeply embedded in Serizawa.
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Desperate to change the world for the better too would wake up in the middle of the night, but instead of being haunted by the black rain, it was the fear of becoming another Oppenheimer. It was those fears that drove Serizawa to make the ultimate sacrifice, to die alongside his invention, with the noble hope of ensuring another way to end the world didn't come about with his Oxygen Destroyer.
Everyday Heroes
The stories of those who stood strong in times of crisis.
Updated bi-weekly
Michael Kaufman
June 30 1976 - July 22, 2028
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Kaufman graduated with a BS. in Media Science from Boston University. Moving to Chicago, Kaufman worked odd jobs while studying improv at Second City, eventually meeting his wife, Brooke Kaufman (1978-2026), after a failed audition for Saturday Night Live. At the advice of his sister, Veronica Kaufman, the couple moved to Los Angeles, where Michael would eventually find a job as senior producer at KYPN.
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Described as dedicated, intelligent, and incredibly funny, Kaufman was an active member of Wilshire Boulevard temple till the death of his wife in a tragic car accident. Suffering from depression, and estrangement from his son, Kaufman was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer in 2028 and given only 6 months to live.
In the end, it is not known what took Kaufman's life, be it Gojira, the Oxygen Destroyer, or his cancer. What is known however is that both his sister and son, Ezra Kaufman, credit his bravery during the Los Angeles disaster with saving their lives.