The Wombat File Is Yours to Keep

Tomorrow you'll no doubt be celebrating your independence from many things, including your tiresome obligations to our little quasi-weekly natterings. With that in mind, here's a damp sparkler to wave in the mental gloom of a Thursday afternoon…

The website of a musician well-known in the 1960s contains a lengthy "tribute" to the life of an even more well-known figure from history, containing biography, chronology of accomplishments, and illustrations. In the explanation for his interest, the musician writes:

In the summer of 1981 I attended a weekend seminar on the problems of Vietnam veterans. The event was sponsored by the Berkeley Veterans Assistance Center and took place in the City of Berkeley Veterans Memorial in the civic center. It was a lightly attended event but featured movers and shakers in the veterans movement who would soon change just about everything for the better. One speaker was a Vietnam War nurse named Lynda Van Devanter, who was the first Vietnam War nurse to "come out" and speak for women in the military. As a member of the audience I was stunned at the realization that I was also guilty of ignoring women in the military in my writings.

Who is the musician? Who is the figure that this event moved him to research?

First correct answer wins a Bear Force One (warning, YouTube link, which may not be precisely appropriate for work, although there's nothing really graphic in it) 2008 World Tour pastel polo shirt. No Googling or calling up Lynda Van Devanter. One guess per comment, but comment as often as you like.