Diane Carlson Evans

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Diane Carlson Evans (born 1946) is a former U.S. Army nurse who served in Vietnam and later helped honor the women who served there and around the world during that era. She founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, which built the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Evans grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and trained as a nurse in Minneapolis. She joined the Army Nurse Corps and served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969, working in the burn unit at the 36th Evacuation Hospital in Vung Tau and at Pleiku. Including her time in Vietnam, she spent about six years in the Army Nurse Corps.

After attending the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, Evans launched the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project in 1984 to honor the service of American military women who served in Vietnam and during the era. She led volunteers from 50 states and drew support from major veterans organizations to raise funds.

The effort faced a large funding shortfall, but a sponsor helped provide the last-minute money needed to finish. It took seven years of testimony before federal bodies and Congress to gain permission to build the memorial. More than 300 artists entered a design competition in 1990. Glenna Goodacre’s bronze sculpture, a 7-foot-tall piece showing three women and a wounded soldier, was chosen. The earlier “Nurse” design by Rodger Brodin helped raise early funds, and its model, Rhonda McKellup, became well known through the fundraising effort.

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial was dedicated on November 11, 1993, with Vice President Al Gore speaking. Since then, Evans has remained active in the veterans community as founder and president of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, traveling to speak about the experiences of women in wartime. She and her husband have been married for more than forty years and have four children and seven grandchildren. Evans has received several honors from various organizations, including the Advocate of the Year Award from the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs. She also wrote a public letter opposing the Patriot Act and the U.S. war in Iraq.