My dad had the distinction of being the commanding officer over a decorated Korean War hero, who happened to be a horse.
When dad graduated college and was commissioned in the Marines towards the end of the Korean War , we moved east for hime to attend officer schooling at Quantico; following that we moved to Camp Pendleton.
One of the “Marines” he was assigned was a horse named Reckless.
I have a photo of my dad, several other Marines and Sgt. Reckless taken at Camp Pendleton. She was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 1959, well after dad was her commanding officer...
<<<<< I also learned part of this story because of a book dad had, the cover shown here.
Part of the book quoted here
“Bought by a Marine gun crew with their own money and trained to help them carry shells for the Recoilless Rifle which they have nicknamed “Reckless”, she is dubbed with the same name and made their mascot. Her antics, and her insatiable appetite for such surprising tidbits as poker chips, coca cola, shredded wheat, scrambled eggs, vitamin pills, a hat or two, and her specially made blanket of red silk trimmed with gold, bring welcome amusement and relief amid the strains of combat.
Her first real test under battle conditions comes when she is led beside the thunderous rifle to which she has packed ammunition over rugged hilly terrain. There were some who doubted that a horse could withstand the tremendous blast of the Recoilless Rifle and remain calm. Will she hold? Will she bolt? The gun is fired:
Wham-whoosh! The hills bellowed and rocketed with the roar. Behind the weapon spurted a flame of dust. Though weighted down with six shells, Reckless left the ground with all four feet ... her eyes went white. ‘Take it easy, Reckless,’ Coleman, a Marine, soothed. Wham-whoosh! Reckless went into the air again, but not quite so far. She snorted and shook her head to stop the ringing in her ears. Wham-whoosh! She shook as the concussive blast of air struck her, but she did not rear. She stood closer to Coleman, trembling slightly, but the white was gone from her eyes.”
She had held, and from that day Reckless was an indispensable member of the gun crew, making trip after trip, often alone, from the ammunition supply point to the gun, laden with heavy shells under the most devastating enemy fire, never faltering, never failing. “
Elsewhere on online, I found this story:
"A lieutenant… and others were in a circle talking. Reckless came up behind one fellow and nuzzled the back of his neck. It scared the guy, and he cussed Reckless, calling her a 'blanking nag.' The lieutenant sternly let him know Reckless was a hero and had done more for the Marine Corps than he ever would. And since Reckless outranked him, any further verbal abuse would be cause for disciplinary action.”
Reckless died in 1968 and was survived by three offspring.
Few stories better illustrate the military's promise to leave no one behind than that of Staff Sgt. Reckless, a horse who became a decorated Marine during the Korean War.
Plans have begun to honor the horse.(in 2004)
A Marine officer purchased Reckless from a Korean boy who needed money to buy his sister an artificial leg, according to Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Geer, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment of the 1st Division in Korea. Geer wrote two articles about the horse for The Saturday Evening Post in the 1950s and later wrote a book, "Reckless, the Pride of the Marines."
The horse served at the bloody Battle of Vegas after training as an ammunitions carrier, according to Geer.
He wrote:
"Every yard she advanced was showered with explosives. Fifty-one times she marched through the fiery gantlet of the Red barrage and she saved the day for the Leathernecks."
Semper Fidelis, Reckless.
May is National Military Appreciation Month
