Carson Long graduate receives posthumous
Air Force Airman's Medal for actions during Virginia Tech shooting
Matthew La Porte was a 2005 graduate of Carson
Long Military Academy in New Bloomfield. He was killed in the 2007 massacre at
Virginia Tech. (Submitted photo)
By Deb Kiner |
dkiner@pennlive.com
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on April 14, 2015 at 9:23 AM, updated April 14, 2015 at 9:31 AM
Carson Long Military Academy graduate Matthew J. La
Porte, '05, recently was awarded the Air Force Airman's Medal for his heroic
actions on April 16, 2007, giving his own life while trying to save his
classmates at Virginia Tech, according to Carson Long.
According to Carson Long, a
ceremony was held at the Blacksburg Town Cemetery near Virginia Tech. Maj. Gen.
Randal D. Fullhart presented the medal to La Porte's
parents, Barbara and Joseph, and his sister, Priscilla.
Thirty-two people were killed on
April 16, 2007, at the school when the shooter, Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho burst into a room and opened fire. Cho later
committed suicide. La Porte was a sophomore Air Force ROTC cadet sitting in a
French class.
La Porte, a native of Dumont,
N.J., attended Carson Long beginning in seventh grade. He was the academy's
drum major. In 2008, the La Porte family established the Matthew J. La Porte
Scholarship, awarded each year to the Carson Long cadet who puts the well-being
of others before himself, models what needs to be done, is a team player and
exemplifies 'deeds not words,' according to Carson Long.