The VVA Veteran

Diane Carlson Evans, 1946-2026

Diane Carlson Evans, the former U.S. Army Vietnam War nurse who led the long fight to build the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, D.C., died May 20 at 79.

“It is with a heavy heart to learn of the passing of Vietnam Veteerans of America life member and trailblazing Army Captain Diane Carlson Evans,” said VVA National President Tom Burke.

“Diane was a true American hero, volunteering at age 21 for the Army Nurse Corps and serving a life-changing 1968-69 tour of duty as a combat nurse in the operating and recovery rooms at the U.S. Army’s 36th Evacuation Hospital in Vũng Tàu and the 71st Evac in Pleiku.”

A founding member of Eau Clair, Wisconsin, VVA Chapter 5 in 1983, Diane Evans went on to “spend a lifetime working as a forceful veterans’ advocate,” Burke said.

That advocacy—and her personal experiences in the war and after coming home—led to the idea of a memorial at The Wall in Washington to honor the American women who served in the Vietnam War.

Diane Evans’ many awards include the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2025 and the VVA Lifetime Achievement Award.

She received the VVA award at the 2022 National Leadership Conference, following the publication of her acclaimed memoir, "Healing Wounds," which dealt with her service in the war, her emotional turbulence after coming home, and her fight to get Women’s Memorial built.

“I feel peace,” she wrote near the end of the book. “The grace I used to pray for when the causalities came in has been showing up more frequently. Prayers have been answered. Faith restored. Joy permitted. Guilt quieted.”

Vietnam War veteran Lee Rebsom's novel "Brothers No More: A Vietnam Odyssey," is a sem-autobiographical tale that focuses on the Vietnam War stories of three brothers who grew up on a ranch in North Dakota and all wound up fighting in the war. Here's Tom Werzyn's review, just posted on Books in Review II:
https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/brothers-no-more-by-lee-rebsom/