Background
Valentine was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and attended public schools.
Valentine was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and attended public schools.
He graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina in 1948, and graduated from the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1952, being admitted to the North Carolina bar that same year.
During World World War II he joined the United States. Army Air Corps (now the United States Air Force) and served on active duty from 1944 to 1946. Valentine served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1955 to 1960. Thereafter, he was an advisor and counsel to Governor Dan K. Moore and later chaired the executive committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party (1966–1968).
He was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
In 1982 he was elected to Congress from North Carolina"s 2nd congressional district and served six terms in the House of Representatives. He did not stand for re-election in 1994 and retired from elected office when his term expired in January 1995.