Published May 27, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT
Diane Carlson Evans is being heralded for decades of efforts and helping women.
Diane Carlson Evans is being remembered for her wartime efforts that paved the way for other females besides herself to garner national recognition. Evans, 79, of Helena, Mont., died May 20 after what was described as a long and courageous battle against cancer, according to her obituary. She was a U.S. Army nurse who volunteered to serve during the Vietnam War, ultimately leading to finding her longtime husband, starting a family, and, ultimately, initiating the Vietnam Women's Memorial—the first of its kind in the United States, more than 30 years ago. She was born in 1946 in Buffalo, Minn., to a dairy farmer and nurse, and attended the Carlson Country School for eight years near the farm where she grew up. Upon graduating from Buffalo High School, she studied nursing at St. Barnabas Hospital in Minneapolis and then at the University of Minnesota, where she attained her registered nurse degree. Evans joined the Army Nurse Corps Student Program in 1966. After graduating in 1967, she was commissioned a second lieutenant and completed basic officer training. She volunteered for service in Vietnam while serving as a medical-surgical nurse at Fort Lee, Va.
