Senator Robert C.Byrd

The long-time senator from West Virginia has brought much to our region, including to the ATK (formerly ABL) facility at Rocket Center. Military contracts assure employment for area workers; a building on the premises has been named in honor of his wife, Ora, and two more for himself. Throughout the state, much bears his name: a high school in Clarksburg, where Senator Byrd was instrumental in transferring FBI departments, and many of the highways winding through the Mountain State are now referred to as the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
Born on November 20, 1917, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Titus and Vlurma Byrd, he married his high school sweetheart Erma Ora (James) Byrd on May 29, 1937.
It's been said by fellow Congressmen that Senator Byrd exemplifies the type of person the founding fathers had in mind when they drew the Constitution. He has cast 17,800 roll call votes - an amazing 98.7% attendance record - in his nearly 5 decades of service in the Senate and has been elected to more leadership positions than any other senator in history.
After taking 10 years of classes while serving as a member of Congress, he earned a law degree from American University in 1963, and earned another diploma from Marshall University at the age of 77. Acknowledging the value of an education, Senator Byrd introduced a program in West Virginia in 1969 whereby valedictorians at each public and private high school receive savings bonds and a congratulatory letter from him. Then, in 1985, he launched the first and only federal merit-based scholarship program. Since then tens of thousands of U.S. students have received help in paying their tuition bills through its unique incentive.
Showing his down-to-earth side, he learned to play the fiddle, and has played it in churches, homes and hamlets across the state. His skill led to performances at the Kennedy Center and on television, and he has even recorded an album, "Mountain Fiddler."
"Each day in the Senate, Robert Carlisle Byrd is focused on building a better future for the Mountain State" comes from his biography posted on the internet.