Diane Corcoran, R.N., Ph.D., is a retired army colonel and president of the board of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, an international resource and support organization for people who have had near-death experiences, or who want to understand and support friends or family members who have had them. Corcoran became interested in near-death phenomena in 1969, as an army field nurse in Vietnam, when injured soldiers first started telling her about them. She left the military to pursue her doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin and to continue her interest in near-death phenomena-- particularly as experienced by soldiers and by children. Corcoran is a contributor to When Ego Dies: A Compilation of Near-Death and Mystical Conversion Experiences and the lead investigator in the Combat Veteran NDE Project.