On the morning after the Columbine massacre, one of my 11th graders asked me what I would do if a gunman were to enter our school -- an especially pressing issue given that the classroom was on an inside corridor with no windows and only one door.

My response?

"I would put myself between you guys and the guy with the gun -- and pray that you would get out even if I didn't."

On Monday, Professor Liviu Librescu did exactly that for his students.

As Jews worldwide honored on Monday the memory of those who were murdered in the Holocaust, a 76-year-old survivor sacrificed his life to save his students in Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech College that left 33 dead and over two dozen wounded.

Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, threw himself in front of the shooter when the man attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and engineering lecturer was shot to death, "but all the students lived - because of him," Virginia Tech student Asael Arad - also an Israeli - told Army Radio.

Several of Librescu's other students sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he had blocked the gunman's way and saved their lives, said Librescu's son, Joe.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

Librescu was respected in his field, his son said.

"His work was his life, in a sense," said Joe. "That was a good place for him to practice his research."

I honor the sacrifice and memory of Liviu Librescu, and hope that I will have the strength to emulate him if ever faced with his choice -- and pray I never have to do so.

Posted by: Greg at 11:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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