Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero

There is a beautifully illustrated book, Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero, which can be found in the school library at Tyndall Academy, A. Gary Walsingham Academy and Deane Bozeman. It is the story of Staff Sergeant Reckless (c. 1948 – May 13, 1968), who was a small, Mongolian mare, standing only 14 hands (56 inches) and weighing 900 pounds but was she ever brave! Reckless became the first decorated warhorse who held official rank in the United States military. 

Reckless was trained to be a pack horse by platoon Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Latham, learning battlefield survival skills such as how not to become entangled in barbed wire and to lie down when under fire. She even learned to run for a bunker upon hearing the cry, "Incoming!" Reckless had a gentle disposition and developed such a rapport with the troops that she was allowed to freely roam about the camp and entered tents at will, sometimes sleeping inside with the troops, and even lying down next to Latham's warm tent stove on cold nights. She was fond of a wide variety of foodstuffs, entertaining the platoon by eating scrambled eggs and drinking Coca-Cola and beer. Food could not be left unattended around her! 

Reckless served in numerous combat actions during the Korean War, carrying supplies and ammunition, and was also used to evacuate wounded. Learning each supply route after only a couple of trips, she often traveled to deliver supplies to the troops on her own, without the benefit of a handler. The highlight of her nine-month military career came in late March 1953 during the Battle for Outpost Vegas when, in a single day, she made 51 solo trips, carrying a total of 386 recoilless rounds (over 9,000 pounds, carrying four to eight 24-pound shells on each trip) covering over 35 miles that day, to supply multiple front line units. She was wounded in combat twice, became the first horse in the Marine Corps known to have participated in an amphibious landing, and following the war was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, inclusion in her unit's Presidential Unit Citations from two countries, and other military honors. 

Reckless was retired and brought to the United States after the war, where she gave birth to four foals and died on May 13, 1968. A plaque and photo were dedicated in her honor at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton stables, a statue of her was dedicated at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia, and a bronze statue of Sergeant Reckless was placed and dedicated in the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington Kentucky. 

We need more good books in school libraries like this one!

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See the book here on our Amazon Affiliate link:
https://amzn.to/4lQo5rj