On This Day in History: March 27

Sgt. Reckless

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There are many heroes in this story; one of them a quadruped. In 1952 in Seoul during the Korean War, a boy, tears in his eyes, sold his beloved racehorse “Flame” to the U.S. Marines so he could afford to buy an artificial leg for his monoped sister.

I’m going to Hell, aren’t I?

--On This Day in History Shit Went Down: March 27, 1953--

The 5^th Marine Regiment trained Flame as a packhorse to carry ammunition as well as wounded marines. She was allowed to wander freely and developed a reputation for consuming anything in sight, including Coke, beer, and poker chips.

They renamed her Reckless as a contraction of “Recoilless” because her primary task was to pack 24-pound shells for the recoilless rifles. And also because the guys who manned those guns were crazy motherfuckers. Reckless was one smart fucking horse. They trained her to avoid getting tangled in barbwire, to lie down under fire, and even to run for a bunker when she heard the word “Incoming!” She also learned how to travel her pack routes unguided after being led only a few times.

On March 27, 1953, during the brutal Battle for Outpost Vegas, Reckless became a hero.

The battle lasted three days, and in the middle of it she made 51 solo trips between the front and the rear in a single day, packing up over 9,000 pounds of ammunition, and carrying several wounded men to safety. She was wounded twice during the action but kept up her duties. For her heroic actions, she was promoted to Corporal.

Later, she was given a battlefield promotion to Sergeant, with a full ceremony and everything. Shipped to Camp Pendleton in California after the war, in 1959 Reckless was again promoted, to the rank of Staff Sergeant. For her actions during the war, she received two Purple Hearts for the wounds suffered during Outpost Vegas, as well as a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, a Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star, and a shit-ton of other medals, all of which were worn on her horse blanket.

Staff Sergeant Reckless continued to serve at Camp Pendleton, birthing four foals in that time, until her retirement in late 1960. In lieu of a pension she was provided food and shelter for the remainder of her life, which was another eight years. In 1997 LIFE magazine recognized her as one of the top 100 all-time American heroes.

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