Sister 501399 Marie Eileen Craig, 2 Medical Air Evacuation Training, Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service... 

...was born at Balmain, New South Wales, on the 6th of August 1914, one of five children, the daughter of Alexander Craig (1885 to 1934) and Jessie Maud nee Anning (1886 to 1970). The family home was at Dummoyne, New South Wales.

Following education, Marie took up nursing and in 1938 commenced training at the Royal North Shore Hospital, at St. Leonards, in the suburbs of Sydney.

In 1942, she qualified as a nurse and a year later, in Sydney on the 26th of May 1943 she enlisted into the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Nursing Service and went for training at Janefield Camp, Victoria for the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Unit (MAETU). Here she learned to march and took courses in tropical disease, physics, hygiene, weapon handling and other subjects. 

In May 1945, Sister Marie Craig was posted to Morotai, an island off Borneo working on air evacuation flights between the islands and Australia. She earned a reputation as a first class, dedicated nurse and received a Mention In Despatches for “Services rendered in [the] Northern Command Area”. A friend recalled that “She was a character and had a marvellous sense of humour. She was a vital person, always full of energy, laughter and empathy”.

At 6.45am on the 18th of September 1945, Marie Craig took off on a medical evacuation flight from Wama Airfield on Morotai in Dakota A65- 61 of 38 Squadron, RAAF for Garbutt airfield, near Townsville, Queensland. Intermediate stops were to be made Merauke Airfield and Bamage Airfield (Higgins Field). Pilot for the flight was W/O Arthur Hunter, with four other crew members. The patients, walking wounded and stretcher cases were in the care of Sister Craig and and a Medical Orderly. In all there twenty nine people on the aircraft.

After take off, the Dakota went missing and in spite of an extensive search, there was no sign of it or the passengers and crew and it was assumed that the aircraft had crashed into the sea. The aircraft had in fact crashed into Mount Carstensz, the highest mountain in New Guinea, with a peak of 16,024ft - it then fell into a ravine 2,500 feet from the summit.

The crash site is near Wissel Lakes, northwest of the Grasberg mine, western New Guinea. It was not however discovered until the 19th of April 1967 Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot Mr. J. Reeder spotted the wreckage of the Dakota. In October 1968 he found the wreckage again. With the exact location of the wreckage discovered, on the 28th of November, a Jetranger helicopter piloted by Harold Wysong chartered by Delong Corporation lumber survey team at Nabire investigated the crash, found human remains and identified the site as Australian. Further investigation provided positive identification of the aircraft and personal effects helped identify the occupants. A memorial to the deceased was placed on the crash site at a later date.

Following an arduous recovery in difficult terrain which entailed the use of oxygen by the recovery teams, all of the fatalities were interred in Port Moresby War Cemetery. The names of the casualties had been remembered on the Lae Memorial to the missing. Now that they have known graves, their names have been removed from the memorial. Sister Marie Craig is now the only woman buried in Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery.

She is remembered on a number of memorials - including at RAAF Laverton, Victoria; Westminster Abbey; Australian War Memorial and in the hospital Chapel at the Royal North Shore Hospital - this includes the name of fellow graduate Army Sister Nancy Harris who was killed on the 16th of February 1942, in the massacre of Australian nurses on Bangka Island after the fall of Singapore.

"Sister Marie Craig was remembered at the sounding of the Last Post at the Australian War Memorial on the 24th of August 2013. The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial every day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour.

At each ceremony, the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (501399) Sister Marie Eileen Craig, RAAF Nursing Service 2 Medical Air Evacuation Training, Royal Australian Air Force, Second World War. The address was read by guest speaker Lieutenant Colonel Rosalie McDonald accompanied by Piper Jim Davey and Bugler Claire Leske”. (Passage credit - AWM).

The name of Sister Nancy Harris has also been remembered in the same way at the AWM on the 15th of March 2013.

There are 3838 Commonwealth casualties in Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, of which 3140 are identified