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Today's most e-mailed
Prior days' news: By date | Search This week's print issue Back issues: By date | Search April 19, 2007Partahi M.H. LumbantoruanPartahi M.H. Lumbantoruan worked hard all his life — first to get to Virginia Tech from his home in Indonesia, and then in hopes of returning to teach there. The son of a mid-level officer in the Indonesian army, Mr. Lumbantoruan, 34, was a dedicated student and a caring friend. Known as “Mora” around the civil-engineering department, he was a quiet man who spent more time in the library than in the bars. A fellow student in the department, Soonkie Nam, describes him as shy.  Family photo, AP Images “I am also a kind of shy guy and didn’t have many native friends here,” says Mr. Nam, who is Korean. “But he was really thoughtful and very kind, and he really knew how to listen, and how to make others comfortable.” Mr. Lumbantoruan, whose mother died when he was in elementary school, was “a nice, diligent kid,” says his brother, Bindu, who lives in Indonesia. Although he struggled in certain classes, he made up for it with a powerful work ethic. He wrote his master’s thesis on soil liquefaction during earthquakes, and last year decided to pursue a Ph.D. in hydrotechnology. “I tried to dissuade him from taking a Ph.D. because of the time it would take and all the effort,” says his thesis adviser, Marte S. Gutierrez. “But he told me, ‘Dr. Gutierrez, I really need this, this is what I want to do.’” On the day he was killed, Mr. Lumbantoruan was in an advanced hydraulics class. When he was shot, his adviser says, he had laid himself over another student, protecting that person from gunfire. — Erik Vance, Martha Ann Overland, David Cohen Posted on Thursday April 19, 2007 | Permalink |Comments |
My heart and prayers go this Moras family and friends during this time.I pray that the lord grants you the strength you all need during this difficult time .
— TF Apr 23, 09:21 AM #
I was in Tibet for a personal trip when I heard about this very sad and shocking incident that happpened to mr.Lumbantoruan.My deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the family and my pray for mr.Lumbantoruan’s soul to rest in peace.
— Adik Wibowo Apr 23, 12:14 PM #