Daniel E. Walker
| Daniel E. Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1927 |
| 💀Died | September 16, 2009 (aged 81) Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, USASeptember 16, 2009 (aged 81) |
| 🎓 Alma mater | United States Military Academy |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Patricia Ann Walker |
| 👶 Children | Russell W. Walker David E. Walker Dana W. Purczinsky |
Daniel E. Walker, known as Dan Walker (September 19, 1927 – September 16, 2009), was a United States Army veteran from Fort Worth, Texas, who received international attention for properly disposing of a burned American flag.[1][2]
Military career[edit]
Walker served in World War II. In 1953, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point,[3] New York. He later served in Korea and was a member of the Army Corps of Engineers.[2]
Flag burial incident[edit]
In 1984, after protesters burned an American flag during the Republican National Convention, Walker retrieved the leftover remains. Walker said, "I didn’t want somebody sweeping it up with a broom and putting it in an ashcan."[2][1] He buried the remains in his backyard rather than using the approved method of incinerating them because "...it had already been burned once".[4]
Following the incident, Walker received the Army’s highest civilian award and a letter of commendation from U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.[2][1]
The flag burning incident eventually led to the 1989 United States Supreme Court decision of Texas v. Johnson which upheld flag burning as a freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution by a narrow 5-4 decision.[5]
Personal life[edit]
Walker was married to Patty Walker and they had two sons and a daughter. He was a deacon-emeritus of the McKinney Memorial Bible Church in Fort Worth and sang with the oratorio chorus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Walker died of prostate cancer on September 16, 2009.[2][1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Dan Walker, 81; veteran who buried burned flag remnants". Boston Herald; Associate Press. September 20, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Jan Jarvis,". Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.[dead link]
- ↑ "Last Roll Call". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on December 21, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
- ↑ Robert Justin Goldstein (1996), Burning the Flag, Kent State University Press, p. 33, ISBN 9780873385985
- ↑ "Background Summary and Questions, Texas v. Johnson (1989), Landmark Supreme Court Cases". Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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