The Marines Bought Her for $250. In One Day of Battle, She Made 51 Trips Under Fire, Often Alone

In October 1952, during the Korean War, the U.S. Marines bought a small chestnut mare at a racetrack in Seoul. They paid $250.

She joined the Recoilless Rifle Platoon of the 5th Marine Regiment. Their gun was so dangerous it was nicknamed the “reckless rifle,” so they named her Reckless.

Her job was to carry heavy ammunition up steep mountains to the guns. She learned fast. After a trip or two, she could make the run on her own.

In March 1953 came the Battle of Outpost Vegas, one of the fiercest fights the Marines saw in Korea.

On one day alone, Reckless made 51 trips from the supply point to the firing sites. She carried 386 rounds of ammunition, more than 9,000 pounds, and walked over 35 miles through rice paddies and up the hills, under heavy enemy fire.

On the way back down, she often carried wounded men to safety.

She was wounded twice, and it did not stop her. Her biographer, Robin Hutton, says the Marines sometimes threw their own flak jackets over her to protect her.

She was promoted to corporal after that battle, to sergeant in 1954, and later to staff sergeant. She came to America in November 1954, retired in 1960, and lived out her days at Camp Pendleton, California, where she died in 1968.

Today there are statues of her at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, at Camp Pendleton, and at the Kentucky Horse Park. In 2016, she was given the Dickin Medal, known as the animal version of the Victoria Cross.

Had you ever heard of Sergeant Reckless before today? Tell us in the comments.