Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. (August 13, 1860 – October 23, 1925) was a Virginia politician. He moved to Winchester Virginia from West Virginia in 1887 and became a wealthy apple grower in the Shenandoah Valley and published the Winchester Star newspaper. He represented Winchester in the Virginia House of Delegates, and served as that body's Speaker from 1908 until 1914. He was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 1914 until 1920. One of his sons, Richard, became famous as a naval aviator who led an expedition to the South Pole; another,
USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) of fuel to Tomodachi-support ships. In August 2014, the ship rescued nine Yemeni sailors from their stricken dhow in the Sea of Oman. USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) USNS "Richard E. Byrd" (T-AKE-4) is a "Lewis and Clark"-class dry cargo ship in the United States Navy. She is the second United States Navy ship to be named after polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957). The contract to build her was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) of San Diego, California, on 18 July 2003. She was launched from the building ways into the San Diego Bay