{"id":105162,"date":"2025-11-11T09:52:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T14:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=105162"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T14:53:19","slug":"veterans-day-special-sergeant-reckless-the-korean-war-mare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/veterans-day-special-sergeant-reckless-the-korean-war-mare.html","title":{"rendered":"Veterans Day Special: Sergeant Reckless, the Korean War Mare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article \u2013 for Veterans Day \u2013 Melissa Davenport Berry describes a very special Korean War veteran: a beloved horse who carried ammunition for Marines during some intense battles. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today I honor a special veteran, Sergeant Reckless, the Korean War mare who participated in the Battle for Outpost Vegas in March 1953.<\/p>\n

In the photos below, we see: (clockwise, starting upper left) American flag; Sgt. Reckless with her primary trainer, U.S. Marine Sergeant Joseph Latham, holding her reins; Sgt. Reckless at Rotation Ceremony before leaving Korea for America, with PFC William Moore; Sgt. Reckless in action.<\/p>\n

\"Photos:
Photos: Sergeant Reckless, decorated Korean War mare. Credit: Andrew Geer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She was given the nickname \u201cReckless\u201d by the boys because the Recoilless Rifle, for which she carried ammunition, was considered extremely dangerous and was referred to as the \u201creckless\u201d rifle.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Sergeant Reckless in battle. Credit: U.S. Marine Corps Archive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She was wounded twice and retired as a staff sergeant. She was awarded two Purple Hearts and LIFE<\/em> magazine recognized her as one of \u201cAmerica\u2019s 100 All-Time Heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Sgt. Reckless\u2019 stories are told by retired Marine Corps Sgt. John T. Meyers in this article published in the Seattle Times<\/em> in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Seattle Times (Seattle, Washington), 11 November 2012, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

War is hell, but there is one aspect of the Korean War that John Meyers, a retired Marine Corps sergeant who lives in Upper Manhattan, remembers fondly every Veterans Day.<\/p>\n

The memory is about one of his best war buddies \u2013 a popular sergeant who was decorated for battleground bravery. On Friday morning, Meyer pulled out a well-worn photograph he brought back from Korea of the sergeant grazing in a field.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a heck of a work horse \u2013 she could carry 12 rounds of ammo,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was a dependable, beautiful animal, and she was sociable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meyers was speaking of Sgt. Reckless<\/a>, a Mongolian mare who won two Purple Hearts and earned the rank of staff sergeant for carrying ammunition in battle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photos:
Photos: Sergeant Reckless carrying ammunition. Credit: Camp Pendleton Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meyers was close to the horse, both on the battlefield, where he was a gunner, and also in the mess tent, where he often worked as a cook with the Fifth Marine Regiment Anti-Tank Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would feed her, so every time she\u2019d see me, she\u2019d trot over,\u201d said Meyers, a retired shipping clerk. \u201cI gave her an apple a day. She knew exactly where I slept and she\u2019d come in the tent and lick my face to wake me up, so she could eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meyers recalled Reckless carrying heavy rounds for the powerful anti-tank guns the unit used, known as recoilless rifles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat gun had a heck of a blast, but it wouldn\u2019t bother Reckless,\u201d he said. \u201cAny animals in the area would take off, but that horse would stay calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

She became well known in the 1950s as America\u2019s greatest equine war hero, the subject of an article in the Saturday Evening Post<\/em> that was published while she was still in Korea. It helped ignite a public outcry to get the Marine Corps to bring her to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1950s, Reckless was as popular as Rin Tin Tin and Lassie,\u201d said Robin Hutton, an author from Ventura, Calif., who is writing a book on Reckless.<\/p>\n

In 1955, the horse appeared on TV with Art Linkletter and made many other public appearances after the war, Hutton said. Plans to bring her to New York City for an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show<\/em> were scuttled by a storm, and a planned film fell through, she said. Reckless soon drifted into obscurity.<\/p>\n

Hutton helped gain support for a memorial to Reckless that is scheduled to open in July at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., near the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. It will include a statue in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park next to the museum and an exhibition of items, including one of Reckless\u2019 horseshoes and photographs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: unveiling of Sergeant Reckless statue, 26 July 2013. Credit: Corp. Christina O\u2019Neil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meyers said his unit fell in love with the horse, whom they treated \u201clike one of the fellows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had guys feeding her everything \u2013 beer, soda,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Sergeant Reckless having a drink with her comrades. Credit: Andrew Geer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reckless\u2019 biography is not entirely complete. The story goes that a Marine purchasing officer bought the horse from a Korean boy who needed money to buy his sister an artificial leg, according to a 1955 book, Reckless: Pride of the Marines<\/em><\/a>, by Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Geer, a Marine commander who served with Reckless and wrote articles about her for the Saturday Evening Post<\/em> in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

[In his book, Geer described Sgt. Reckless braving flying bullets during one particularly fierce battle and continuing to carry ammunition and wounded soldiers even after being hit by shrapnel.]<\/p>\n

Reckless is the only animal to ever hold an official rank in any military service, Hutton said.<\/p>\n

Her two Purple Heart medals and a multitude of others were pinned to the scarlet and gold blanket she wore at appearances.<\/p>\n

She was retired on Nov. 10, 1960, with full military honors. She lived at the stables at Camp Pendleton in California and died in 1968 at age 20.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sgt. Reckless left descendants, as noted in this Press-Enterprise<\/em> story featuring a photo of her beside G. M. \u201cJinx\u201d McCain, who served as captain in the same unit. Alongside them is daughter Debbie holding the mare\u2019s offspring Dauntless.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, California), 27 October 2016, page 48<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This photo caption reads:<\/p>\n

Debbie McCain, whose father, G. M. \u201cJinx\u201d McCain, left, served with the 5th Marine Division, in a 1957 photograph with Reckless, left, and offspring Dauntless. The dedication [of the Reckless statue] Wednesday marked 64 years to the day Reckless joined the Marine Corps.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here is a photo of one of the four foals Reckless gave birth to over time.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Sergeant Reckless and a foal. Credit: Fort Pendleton Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Debbie McCain was present when Reckless died. The Press-Enterprise<\/em> article reports:<\/p>\n

Seeing Reckless\u2019 statue brought back a flood of memories to Debbie McCain. Her father, Col. G. M. \u201cJinx\u201d McCain, served as a captain with Reckless in Korea.<\/p>\n

At 6 years old, Debbie McCain wanted nothing more than to meet the mare she had heard so much about. When her father was transferred to Camp Pendleton, her dream came true.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got out here and the first thing we did was go to the stables and visit Reckless,\u201d McCain, 67, said following the [statue unveiling] ceremony.<\/p>\n

McCain, of Fallbrook, spent every weekend with Reckless, then at the base stables at Camp Pendleton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brushed her, put ribbons on her and loved her,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I had my birthday, my mother made one cake for me and one for Reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, as a teen, McCain was back at Camp Pendleton. Her father had been wounded in the Vietnam War and was recovering on base.<\/p>\n

Between her visits with him, McCain would go to the stables to see Reckless.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever she saw me, she\u2019d nicker and come running over,\u201d McCain said.<\/p>\n

McCain was there May 13, 1968, when Reckless, 20, died after getting a severe infection.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was down and the vet was working on her,\u201d she said. \u201cI went and said \u2018goodbye.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cShe gave her whole life to the Marines. When they bought Reckless, history was made and a Marine was born. If it hadn\u2019t been for her, there\u2019s literally a generation of families that wouldn\u2019t be here today. All because of a little horse.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Explore your family history by creating your free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days, because every life deserves to be remembered, recorded, and rediscovered.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Sergeant Reckless, a highly decorated U.S. Marine Corps artillery horse in the Korean War, pictured beside a 75mm recoilless rifle, between c. 1952-1955. Credit: Andrew Geer or another member of the United States Marine Corps; Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa Davenport Berry describes a very special Korean War veteran: a beloved horse who carried ammunition for Marines during some intense battles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":105188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12235],"tags":[59198,5512,59197],"class_list":["post-105162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-horses","tag-korean-war","tag-sergeant-reckless"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/photo-1111-2025-featured-graphic-sergeant-reckless.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105162"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105190,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105162\/revisions\/105190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}