President Obama recently asked the USAF to award a US PresidentIal Citation to the commander's wife, Mrs. Alice Craig of Houston, on behalf of all the Shady Lady crew.

On Sunday, 09 August 2011, Mrs Alice Craig (87) (widow of Douglas S. Craig, pilot of the B-24 Liberator bomber SHADY LADY) was presented a "Presidential Citation" by a Defense Attache from the U.S. Embassy in Canberra (the Federal capital of Australia).

Mrs. Craig (second from left) and her daughter Martha (far left) with US Defense Attache in Sydney, just after receiving a Presidential Citation on behalf of the "Shady Lady" crew.

After this ceremony, Alice and daughter Martha were flown to Truscott airbase on the Anjo Peninsula in the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia.  They were then flown by helicopter to the salt pan near Mary Island where Doug force landed SHADY LADY on Saturday, 14 August 1943.  At the old Drysdale mission (now known as Kalumburu), on the exact 68th anniversary of the SHADY LADY landing, Alice unveiled a plaque commemorating the legend of the B-24 on behalf of her late husband and the 380th.

Filming recently in Australia on the original virtually untouched salt-pan in the remote Kimberley region of north Western Australia, brought together the Shady Lady commander's wife from Texas and descendants of the Aboriginals who rescued the crew 68 years ago. Alice and Clement Maraltadj (55) (the grandson of Paul, one of the three Aborigines who first contacted Slim Powers on Sunday, 15 August 1942), were photographed on the same salt pan on the exact 68th anniversary of the landing. 

Alice and Clement are both in the opening scene of the Fact Not Fiction Films documentary on the SHADY LADY.

The 'Australian' newspaper covered this extraordinary piece of history:

Shady Lady/Alice Craig Story in The Australian

Thanks to Fact Not Fiction Films for making this event an actuality and to Lindsay Peet for his reporting of the event.