HELENA — A former army nurse and veterans’ advocate from Helena has received one of the country’s highest honors.

Diane Carlson Evans is one of 20 recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal recognized by President Joe Biden on Thursday. The award honors people who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

Evans served six years in the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War, including one year in Vietnam. She later founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, leading a yearslong effort to place a monument in honor of around 265,000 military and civilian women who served in a variety of roles during the war. That monument now stands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

“Her duty and devotion embody the very best of who we are as Americans,” the White House said in a statement announcing the medal recipients.

The Presidential Citizens Medal is considered the second-highest civilian honor in the United States.

Among the other people Biden awarded the medal this year was former Wyoming U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, who was cited along with Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson for their roles leading the House January 6^th Committee.