FORT WORTH, Texas (Associated Press) - Dan Walker, an Army war veteran who was honored for gathering and burying a U.S. flag that was burned in protest during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, died Wednesday. He was 81.

His death was confirmed by the Greenwood Funeral Home. He died of prostate cancer at his Fort Worth home.

Walker was captured by TV cameras carefully retrieving the flag remnants so they could be buried properly. The man who burned the flag was convicted under a Texas law banning desecration of the flag. That conviction was thrown out in 1989 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that flag burning was a constitutionally protected free speech.

Walker told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after the incident that he felt compelled to act after seeing someone try to stomp out the fire.

He disposed of the ashes according to flag care guidelines and buried them in his backyard. He was later presented with the U.S. Army's highest civilian award and received a letter from President Ronald Reagan.