A Holocaust survivor who died while saving his students in Monday's shootings at a Virginia university is a true example of courage, U.S. President George W. Bush says.

Bush paid tribute to Liviu Librescu on Wednesday morning, hours before the engineering professor's afternoon funeral in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Holocaust survivor Liviu Librescu, who died in the Virginia Tech massacre, will be buried in Israel.
(Librescu family/Associated Press)

Students said Librescu, 76, leaned against the door of his Virginia Tech classroom, blocking the path of the gunman who had opened fire on campus and was carrying out a rampage that would result in the deaths of 32 people as well as himself.

Librescu's actions Monday morning gave his students enough time to climb out the window of his second-storey classroom. The gunman eventually got through the door and killed Librescu, but not before his students escaped.

"This Holocaust survivor gave his own life so others could live," Bush said, speaking at a Holocaust remembrance event at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

"We take strength from his example."

The gunman, identified by police as 23-year-old student Cho Seung-Hui, killed himself on campus in Blacksburg, Va., before police could apprehend him. At least 15 people were wounded in the attack; 14 remained in area hospitals Wednesday.

Private funeral

A rabbi led Librescu's private funeral Wednesday and, after the brief service, the professor's casket was carried out of the funeral home as dozens of members of the local Orthodox Jewish community gathered around to pay their respects.

Librescu's body was to be flown Wednesday night to Israel for burial.

Earlier in the day, one of Librescu's two sons described his father as a hero.

"Apparently he did something really good for many people and I'm proud of what he did," Joe Librescu told CBC News.

"He was a hero for me for what he has done throughout his life."

Librescu, who grew up in Romania, was only a boy when his native country joined forces with Nazi Germany in the Second World War. His family said Librescu was interned at a labour camp and then sent to a ghetto with his family and thousands of other Jews.

Librescu survived the war and found work at a government aerospace company. His family said his career was stonewalled when he refused to pledge allegiance to Romania's Communist regime in the 1970s.

Moved to Israel

He was then fired because he requested permission to move to Israel, his family recalled.

He and his family made the move to Israel in 1978, and remained in the country until Librescu was asked in 1985 to teach at Virginia Tech, formally known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Librescu, who specialized in composite structures and aeroelasticity, published many research papers and books, and received numerous awards for his work.

His wife, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said her husband always thought of others before he thought of himself. This was most evident on the day he died, she said.

"He was fighting for everyone," Marlena Librescu said. "He was always helping how he could, but he was not able to help himself."

Names of other victims emerging

Also on Wednesday, the names of other Virginia Tech victims were released to the media.

On Monday, it was learned that one of those shot dead was Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a French instructor from Canada. The former Montreal resident was teaching at Virginia Tech at the time of the shootings Monday, police said.

The names of other victims include:

• Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass.
• Christopher James Bishop, 35.
• Brian Bluhm, 25, civil engineering graduate student.
• Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez, Ga., biology and English major.
• Austin Cloyd, international studies major from Blacksburg.
• Daniel Perez Cueva, 21. 
• Kevin Granata, engineering science and mechanics professor.
• Matthew G. Gwaltney, 24, of Chester, Va., graduate student in engineering.
• Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., a second-year French and international studies major.
• Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa.
• Rachael Hill, 18, of Glen Allen, Va.
• Emily Jane Hilscher, 19, of Woodville, Va., veterinary science student.  
• Jarrett L. Lane, 22, of Narrows, Va.
• Matthew J. La Porte, 20, a first-year student from Dumont, N.J.
• G.V. Loganathan, 51, civil and environmental engineering professor.
• Partahi Lombantoruan, 34, of Indonesia, civil engineering doctoral student.
• Lauren McCain, 20, of Hampton, Va., international studies major. 
• Daniel O'Neil, 22, of Rhode Island.
• Juan Ramon Ortiz, 26, a graduate student in engineering from Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
• Minal Panchal, 26, first-year student of building science from Mumbai, India.
• Erin Peterson, 18, of Chantilly, Va., international studies major.
• Michael Pohle, 23, of Flemington, N.J.
• Julia Pryde, graduate student from Middletown, N.J.
• Mary Karen Read, 19, of Annandale, Va. 
• Reema J. Samaha, 18, a first-year student from Centreville, Va.
• Waleed Mohammed Shaalan, of Zagazig, Egypt, doctoral student in civil engineering.
• Leslie Sherman, second-year history and international studies student from Springfield, Va.
• Maxine Turner, 22, senior majoring in chemical engineering from Vienna, Va.

Hilscher and Clark are believed to have been the first two killed, shot at one of the school dormitories two hours before the others were gunned down at the opposite end of the sprawling campus.

With files from the Associated Press