Wednesday, April 18, 2007

liviu librescu: an american hero

Via Right of Texas and TexasKaos, we learn of Liviu Librescu.
Librescu, 76, was a Holocaust survivor and an engineering professor at Virginia Tech. He was not a native of America, but he became an American hero yesterday as he bravely sacrificed his life in the service of saving others.
Monday, as the Virginia Tech gunman stalked the hallways on his way to killing 32 students and professors, he tried to enter Librescu's classroom. Librescu physically blocked the door of his classroom preventing the gunman from entering. The gunman shot & killed the professor, but even as he lay dying, Librescu blocked the door with his body, giving his students time to escape out of the classroom windows.
Many have marked the bit of poetry surrounding Professor Librescu's courageous death: he died saving others on Yom Ha-Shoah, or Holocaust Memorial Day. A survivor of the Holocaust, who no doubt was able to live to this day because others acted to save his life, died in the defense of others on a day of remembrance for the tragic events he was forced to experience some sixty years ago.

1 comment:

PDiddie said...

Great man, great post. And a great new look for your blog.