In the Midst of Chaos Israeli Hero Gives Life to Save His Students
Liviu Librescu, a professor at Virginia Tech, bolted to the door of his classroom holding a table against the door and eventually blocking it with his body – preventing the gunman from entering until his students could escape through the windows. He was shot dead, but his actions saved his students who made it to safety. Librescu had held the shooter at bay long enough to ensure their survival.
While we mourn the victims of this senseless violence let us remember a man who selflessly and courageously laid down his life for the young people under his care.
But who was this man? Librescu was born and raised in Romania; he suffered under the Nazis surviving the holocaust as a Romanian Jew. Then he suffered further under Soviet domination of Romania until he and his family emigrated to Israel in 1978. He moved to the US to teach engineering sciences and continue his research. Ironically he died on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As we remember the fallen on this sad day, let us take a moment to reflect upon this outstanding example of heroism and bravery.
Liviu Librescu is survived by his wife of 42 years and two sons. He was 76.
While we mourn the victims of this senseless violence let us remember a man who selflessly and courageously laid down his life for the young people under his care.
But who was this man? Librescu was born and raised in Romania; he suffered under the Nazis surviving the holocaust as a Romanian Jew. Then he suffered further under Soviet domination of Romania until he and his family emigrated to Israel in 1978. He moved to the US to teach engineering sciences and continue his research. Ironically he died on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As we remember the fallen on this sad day, let us take a moment to reflect upon this outstanding example of heroism and bravery.
Liviu Librescu is survived by his wife of 42 years and two sons. He was 76.
posted by Joe | 4/17/2007 10:06:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hey, Joe--
I just hapened upon your blog and decided to check it out. (As a matter of fact, I was actually looking for an Eat at Joe's alarm clock for my youngest son--another Joe, of course--and your blog title came up. I enjoyed the "interview" which preceded this entry. It was a nice little Socratic Dialogue kind of thing. But this entry killed me. I choked up near the end of it. I also couldn't help but think, Why in hell have I heard about the gunman over and over again, but this is the first time I've heard of Liviu Librescu? Maybe it's my fault. I tend not to pay much attention to television news these days, and when they continue to promote and make famous maniacs who kill other people (thus giving other maniacs the idea that killing people is a nice, quick route to those infamous fifteen minutes), it just makes me puke. So thanks for giving me the story of Liviu Librescu. I hope to catch up on your other entries over the next few weeks . . . I have a feeling that we have similar world views, and that you can teach me a thing or two.
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