(Washington, D.C.) — “It is with heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Vietnam Veterans of America lifetime member and trail-blazing U.S. Army (ret.) Captain Diane Carlson Evans,” said VVA National President Tom Burke. Carlson Evans is known most widely for leading the hard-fought, decade-long effort to build the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., the first—and still the only—memorial on the National Mall dedicated specifically to women’s military service.
“Diane was a true American hero,” said Burke. “Volunteering at age 21 for the Army Nurse Corps, she served 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 Vung Tau and the 71st Evac in Pleiku.”
“In 1983, she became a founding member of VVA Chapter 5 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and spent a lifetime working as a forceful veterans’ advocate. 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,” he added.
In 1984, Evans incorporated the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project as a non-profit organization. The fight to get the Women’s Memorial was ten years long, complex, and arduous, but Carlson Evans refused to back down, and her tenacity inspired the many women veterans who joined her in the battle. Evans felt deeply an “incompleteness” in the initially controversial Wall, paradoxically highlighted by the addition of Frederick Hart’s statue of three fighting men. “Where are the women?” Evans asked. “Women are also soldiers. Women also need to heal. Their service is worthy of honor and recognition.”
Beyond this one life-altering accomplishment, Carlson Evans’ dedication to her country and to her fellow veterans continued throughout her life. Her unwavering commitment to public service defined her professional life. In 2022, at VVA’s National Convention, she was honored as a recipient of the VVA Lifetime Achievement Award.
