Hundreds attend funeral of Prof. Liviu Librescu, the teacher who died saving his students in the Virginia Tech massacre

The world-class professor of aeronautic engineering was laid to rest, aged 77, in the Israeli town of Raanana Friday. Present were a representative of the US embassy and an envoy of the Romanian president, who presented his widow and two sons the Star of Romania medal in recognition of his courage and contribution to science. He was also honored for bravery by President Bush and the college heads.
Professor Liviu and Marilana Librescu were Holocaust survivors whom the late prime minister Menahem Beigin helped migrate from Romania by interceding with communist president Nikola Ceaucescu. After some years in Israel, where his sons grew up, the professor took a sabbatical in the United States, staying on to teach at Virginia Tech for twenty years. He was also an adviser to NASA. No Israeli government representative was present at his funeral.