Just a Horse? The Marines Don't Think So...

Sgt. Reckless on the  Job

It just chaps me when people use the phrase, "It's just a horse."  So, as an animal it has no value?  Brings nothing to the table, so to speak?  I think anyone who has ever known a horse, or any animal, would say that most of them are worth much more than any number of professional athletes, politicians, or other so-called important humans currently wasting space and oxygen.

Sgt. Reckless was a Mongolian mare purchased for $250 off a Korean racetrack by US Marines.  Her owner needed money to buy his sister an artificial leg, and the marines needed someone to carry ammunition to them in battle. 

During the Battle of Outpost Vegas in 1953, the 14.1hh mare made as many as 51 trips a day to carry ammunition to the soldiers, most of them BY HERSELF! She carried over 386 pounds of ammo over 35 miles of Korean rice paddies and mountains while enemy fire crashed around her at 500 rounds per minute.  She not only saved marines in need of ammunition, at one point she shielded 4 Marines as they crossed the battlefield.

Reckless was as known for her personality as for her heroics.  She demanded respect from her handlers, was known to ransack tents in search of treats, and had a voracious appetite.  Reckless had a penchant for scrambled eggs, cake, and Hershey bars, and loved drinking Coca Cola and beer with her troops.

Reckless was retired to Camp Pendleton.  She's held the ranks of Corporal and Sergeant, and has been honored with two Purple Hearts, a Good Conduct medal, a Presidential Unit Citation with star, to name a few of her honors. 

Just a horse???  I don't think so.

Semper Fi, Reckless.