William Martin Hendon is an author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, POW/MIA

Vietnam War POW/MIA issue

The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia...

 activist, and two-term Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 U.S. Congressman from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

's 11th District

North Carolina's 11th congressional district

The 11th Congressional District encompasses most of Western North Carolina, anchored by Asheville. Starting in the 110th Congress, it is represented by Heath Shuler, a Democrat. Shuler defeated 8-term Republican representative Charles H. Taylor in the 2006 midterm elections.The 11th District is...

.

Hendon is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

, where he also taught from 1968 to 1970. In the 1980s Hendon’s congressional campaigns became nationally famous due to his rivalry with Democrat James McClure Clarke

James M. Clarke

James "Jamie" McClure Clarke was a North Carolina politician and farmer. He is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.Born in Manchester, Vermont, Clarke grew up in Asheville, North Carolina...

. In 1982, Clarke defeated Hendon’s bid for re-election by less than 1,500 votes. In 1984 Hendon gained revenge by defeating Clarke’s bid for re-election by just two percentage points.