Yesteryear A Return to How
One Horse Leaped Her Way into America’s
Hall of Heroes
M any horses, like humans , are petrified of the insidious sounds of warfare. But not Sgt. Reckless. While other steads trotted to their stables, this five-year- old mare galloped toward the rifle ammunition and straight into Ameri- ca’s Hall of Heroes. After being traded to troops for $250 at a Korean racetrack in 1953, Sgt. Reckless baffled the troops with her quick understanding of how to step over enemy communication lines, get down on command, and stay quiet through the trails — talk about a horse of all trades.
After 51 trips — on her own — through the tumultuous firing sites, this mare single-hoofedly transported 9,000 pounds of ammunition and shielded troops during an attack. The attack she intervened in saved the lives of those she shielded, though she did suffer several injuries to herself which she fully recovered from. Afterward, during her recovery, she was offered a well-deserved pension of an unfath- omable supply of hay funded by our military. The celebration was led by a march of the 1,700 troops she hero- ically saved as she watched with pride before her rightful pinning — or shall we say saddle packing — ceremony.
In a time of pampered comfortability, let us not forget those (animals and humans) who served our country with courage, pride, and perseverance in God’s world.
Alexa Astuto
Photo: Reckless with her main caretak- er, US Marine Sergeant Joseph Latham; circa 1952-1953
46 • AMAC Magazine
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