Courage Under Fire
Hero. It’s an overused word.
An athlete scores the winning point. “You’re my hero.“
A friend gives you a ride to work. “You’re my hero.“
A coworker spots you for a cup of coffee. “You’re my hero.“
A teacher puts his body in front of a door so 22 of his students may live.
That’s Liviu Librescu.
For May 1 - Holocaust Remembrance Day - the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education released a 10-minute video honoring the Virginia Tech professor, who was shot four times as he blocked the door to his classroom.
Dr. Librescu, who survived the Holocaust as a young boy in Romania, died to save the lives of his young students on April 16, 2007.
The last words he said to his wife of 42 years when she dropped him off at work that morning were “Thank God.“
Hero is too small a word for such a gentle man.
Watch the 10-minute film on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=tEHm64RnjAs or at http://www.ncfje.org
Posted by Mary Alice Blackwell at 01:46 PM. Filed under:
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Mary Alice Blackwell was a sportswriter for 11 years before turning in her scorebook to cover cops and courts. The Virginia Tech Hokie joined the staff of The Daily Progress in 1987 and has spent the past dozen or so years writing about actors, musicians, artists, authors and, occasionally, her running buddies. 
