Gotta say Librescu was one hell of a man. We are the poorer for his loss. Politics aside, you read that wiki article, and your heart breaks. He survived so much, and did so much good advancing science, and he died fighting so others might live. Its humbling, and hopefully inspiring. That guy deserves to be remembered. I can only hope to live so well and die so well.
Read the article. We owe it to him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liviu_Librescu
Quaker, you and can find a great deal to disagree about.
But, IMNSHO, you are right-on in this case.
Was it his background, his history, his genetics, his faith that made this slightly built elderly man a hero?
All of that may have contributed, but I think he had the spirit of a giant residing in that small body.
He was a hero for the way he lived, not the way he died. And, you are correct that we are all the poorer for his loss.
Crusader