Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse

by Robin Hutton

  What was delightful about the promotions was how they reflected genuine respect the Marines held for Reckless; the stripes carried real weight.

  “I was not permitted to lead her in the parade,” Corporal Winters recalled, “because she outranked me and I could not give her orders. So they found a ranking NCO for that duty.”47

  Bestowing the honors this time was the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Randolph McCall Pate himself, “the nation’s number one Marine . . . during an impressive full-scale parade and review at the Base Parade Field.”48

  At the same ceremony, Dauntless enlisted as a private, which the San Diego Union previewed with the headline, “It’ll be Pvt Dauntless: Sgt Reckless to See Son Enter Marines.”

  Reckless received a 19-gun salute as 1,700 Marines marched in formation. “A horse who really knows her oats,” reported the base newspaper. “SSgt Reckless stood quietly amid all the pomp and ceremony as the division’s Drum and Bugle Corps and combat-clad 5th Marine Regiment passed in review.”49

  The San Diego Union quoted Commandant Pate as declaring Reckless, “one of the greatest woman Marines we ever had.” He also noted Reckless was in better shape for the ceremony than the last time he saw her—in Korea, when he promoted her to sergeant. “She had a hangover [back then],” he told the reporter. “You know, she likes beer.”50

  “THAT AIN’T HAY—ASSGT ‘Reckless’ looks at the chevrons of a staff sergeant (E-6) which she will receive from General Randolph McCall Pate, commandant of the Marine Corps Aug 31 during a combat parade and review by the Fifth Marines at the 24 Area parade field.” Original photo caption from Pendleton Scout, August 27, 1959, p. 7. Photo courtesy of USMC History Division, Quantico, VA

  Her two sons, Private First Class Fearless and Private Dauntless, looked on, along with the Pendleton base commander and the commanders of the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments.

  Also on hand were 125 other well-wishers in crisp green uniforms—Girl Scouts from the Pendleton area, “of which troop, Reckless last month was made an honorary member.”51

  A letter that accompanied Reckless’s promotion warrant noted that “during the period since your last promotion, you have demonstrated exceptional, noteworthy and commendatory performance on unusual assignments. You participated in two 100-mile hikes with the 5th Marines; a distinguishing observation in the January hike was the fact you completed the event without the aid of shoes—all other participants wore field boots.”52

  “Private First Class Winford C McCracken, Headquarters Company 5th Marines stands by Reckless as General Randolph McC Pate, Commandant of the Marine Corps tacks on the chevrons on Staff Sergeant Reckless’ blanket.” Original photo caption. USMC History Division, Quantico, VA

  The letter closed by saying that “Reckless’ performance of duty clearly reflects an ability or qualification exceptional to the degree that it merits accelerated promotion over other qualified Marines in the same occupational field.”53 So great was the Marines’ respect for Reckless that it was made a court-martial offense to put anything heavier than a blanket on her back without orders to do so.

  “In my career I have seen many animals that have been adopted by Marines,” wrote General Pate, “but never in all my experience have I seen one which won the hearts of so many as did this lovely little lady known as Reckless.”54

  General Pate congratulates the newest Private First Class, Dauntless, as Reckless proudly watches. Nancy Latham Parkin

  One typically moving tribute came from PFC Fred E. “Dutch” White of Foxtrot Company, Second Battalion, 5th Marines, who described what he saw that day Reckless was promoted:

  “We marched from Camp Santa Margarita over to the large grass parade field at the end of the Camp Pendleton airfield (just across the road from the commanding general’s ranch house). The reason for our marching over there was so that we could participate in Staff Sergeant Reckless’s promotional ceremony and parade.

  “We must’ve stood there for about two hours, waiting for the ceremony to finally begin. It was hotter than hell and we were all decked out in utilities, marching packs, helmets, and our T/O weapons. . . .

  “There was a whole lot of griping going on all up and down the ranks about having to stand out there in the hot sun all this time, ‘because some damn horse was about to get promoted,’ and ‘What kind of sh*t is this?’ and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, as we all stood there sweating.

  “When things finally did kick off, we went through all the normal, standard, regular parade proceedings, with all the normal, standard, regular 1st Marine Division Band music playing—just like we had done it a number of times before. . . .

  “But when the person on the microphone started giving the audience, and we Marine grunts, the background information on Staff Sergeant Reckless’s heroic career in our Marine Corps during the Korean War, all of our attitudes turned around about 180 degrees.

  “All of a sudden, we all stood a whole lot straighter in ranks. All of a sudden, we were very, very proud to be in the presence of such a true Marine Corps hero. What a magnificent Marine she was. What a great honor to be able to participate in her promotional ceremony and parade.

  “I will never forget that day,” White recalled so many years later, “for as long as I live.”55

  The Reckless Handicap

  Jack Murphy’s sports column in the San Diego Union on September 6, 1959, was devoted to the ninth running of the Del Mar Debutante at Del Mar Racetrack, thirty miles south of Pendleton, where the “Debs” had to share top billing with Reckless (“Top Del Mar Fillies Share Stage With Korean Plater”) since the race was temporarily renamed “The Reckless Handicap.”

  A crowd of 17,905 watched as Reckless was paraded around the track before the race with jockeys warned to keep a “discreet distance” because, as one of her handlers advised a Del Mar executive, “Nobody rides Reckless. . . . It’s a court-martial offense.”

  Darling June beat Fair Maggie by three-and-a-half lengths and ran the fastest six furlongs of any two-year-old filly in America at that time (1:09 1-5), earning a record $33,600 (with a record gross purse of $52,410).

  Having grown up at a racetrack, it would seem natural Reckless would bask in and soak up the cheers and atmosphere of the scenic seaside track located “where the turf meets the surf.”

  And Murphy even remarked about how Reckless really seemed to enjoy the special attention: “In fact, she’s such a showboat it seemed likely she might fluff out her skirts and curtsy when the crowd gave her a noisy ovation.”56 Reckless always knew how to command an audience.

  Reckless: Coming to a Theater Near You?

  In December 1959, United Press International reported—in what likely was just a rewritten studio press release—that United Artists soon would begin production on Reckless: Pride of the Marines, based on Andy Geer’s book.57

  Ten months later, Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper reported the picture would begin filming on location in Korea the following month. She added that World War II hero Guy Gabaldon would play a Marine in the film. (Gabaldon’s own biopic, Hell to Eternity, with Jeffrey Hunter as Gabaldon, had just been released a month earlier.) On October 8, 1960, Hopper was reporting that an early November start date was planned.58 November came and went. In January 1961, the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram reported no decision had yet been made on whether Reckless would play herself. In the end, though, the project was abandoned for no readily apparent reason.

  Staff Sergeant Reckless Retires to a Busy Life

  On November 10, 1960—six years to the day her hooves first touched American soil—Staff Sergeant Reckless retired from the United States Marine Corps. PFC Fearless and Private Dauntless stood by as their staff sergeant mother, resplendent in dress blanket with battle ribbons and fourragère, was relieved of marching and parade duties amidst full military honors at a 5th Marine parade.

  Acting Gunnery Sergeant Frank D. Brady of the 5th Marines disbursing office was her handler that day. “Th
at was the only day I had anything to do with Reckless and I was more than pleased and proud to do it,” Brady recalled. “The base stables brought her over with two of her colts. They had a portable corral that they would use for her colts because whenever she went out anywhere on a parade or something, they always took those colts along. But some master sergeant brought her up there from the base stable all dolled up—her hooves all shined up and everything—and I just took her to the reviewing stand. And after all of that, we ‘trooped the line.’ I led her and brought her back and gave her a piece of birthday cake,” he said with a laugh.

  “MARINES HONOR BATTLE-SCARRED MARE—Sergeant Reckless, battle-scarred former Korean racehorse, stands at attention with G/Sgt FR Brady on the parade field at Camp Pendleton during ceremonies yesterday honoring retiring mare. Reckless was drafted into the Marines during the bitter fighting in October, 1952. She served her adopted country by making many solo trips through battlefields to carry ammunition to outlying gun placements. Reckless, who has lived a life of luxury with the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton since 1954, will live out the rest of her life on a camp pasture.” Original photo caption. Frank Brady. San Diego Union, November 11, 1960, 22, San Diego, CA

  “AND THAT AIN’T HAY—SSgt Reckless receives the first installment of ‘retirement pay’ from LtCol N.P. Lengyel (r), 1st Div Disbursing Officer. The famed mare retired today with full honors during a 5th Marines parade. GySgt F.R. Brady assists with the payment.” Original photo caption from the Pendleton Scout, Nov 10, 1960, p. 3. Photo from the Pendleton Scout

  AGySgt. Frank Brady feeds Reckless a piece of birthday cake. Frank Brady

  “I swear, as we trooped the line . . . and the whole regiment was on line, all three battalions, . . . when we got to the end of the line she looked back and whinnied like, ‘I don’t want to go.’ Not real loud and all . . . but like she didn’t want to go.”

  Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas P. Lengyl was the 1st Division disbursing officer. So this final ceremony was, in essence, Reckless being paid off for her duties as an Active Duty Marine. Now she was a Retired Marine. “The last day of duty we paid her off just as we do with every Marine,” Brady recalled. “Every Marine, when they got separated [retired], they came down and we paid them off and we’d give them a check for their final settlement. For Reckless, it was that big bag of oats in the picture.”59

  According to the San Diego Union, the ceremony “moved a few veteran leathernecks to brush a sentimental tear from their eyes.” General Pate’s successor as Marine Corps Commandant, General David M. Shoup, issued the order: “Staff Sergeant Reckless will be provided quarters and messing at the Camp Pendleton Stables in lieu of retired pay.”60

  Winner’s Circle: Reckless Returns to the Races

  On July 28, 1962, the retired staff sergeant stepped before the crowds on “Reckless Day” at Del Mar Racetrack. “The track has chosen the first weekend to focus on the Armed Forces in general,” the Camp Pendleton newspaper reported, “Camp Pendleton in particular, and Staff Sergeant Reckless most of all.”61 Reckless was paraded before the stands prior to the featured Oceanic Handicap and “stole the show . . . in an impressive ceremony conducted just before the sixth race.”62

  After the race, Reckless was led by her wartime pal Gunnery Sergeant Norman Mull to the winner’s circle for a moment of silence honoring fallen American soldiers. Then, she stood humbly, “directing curious glances at the crowd” as her achievements were read aloud.

  The sixth race was dubbed the “Staff Sergeant Reckless Purse,” and its namesake watched quietly as Sergeant Mull crowned the winner, Harry Wragg, who ran the mile and one sixteenth in 1:41 2-5, winning by nearly a length and paying $5.40.63

  1st Marine Division Reunion

  In August 1962, a 1st Marine Division reunion honored famous leathernecks including the five-time Navy Cross recipient, Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, General Holland Smith (“the father of modern amphibious warfare”), and Staff Sergeant Reckless.

  Two great Marine Corps legends unite: Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller and Reckless share a moment together at the 1st Marine Division reunion. San Diego History Center

  As three thousand Marines paraded past in review, paced by the 1st Marine Division Band, Reckless stood at quiet attention through most of the parade, favoring her left hip. According to the San Diego Union, Reckless occasionally reared and showed the whites of her eyes, but, “when the Division’s thirty red and gold battle colors filed by, she stopped breaking ranks and watched, ears cocked forward.”64

  Two More Blessed Events, One Tragedy

  With little fanfare, Reckless expanded her family on December 6, 1964, when she gave birth to her third foal, a beautiful seal brown colt named “Chesty.”

  There was one last foal, a filly born in 1966, sired by a registered quarter horse stud. Like her mother, this little horse was a sorrel. Sadly, she died a month after birth; the cause of death was not reported.

  A Vet’s View of a Vet

  “She was a pretty good horse to handle. She never got in much trouble, so we really didn’t do much treatment for her,” recalled Dr. Robert L. Miller, Reckless’s veterinarian at Pendleton. “She was the queen over there. Had her own paddock and all her own attention and all the kids liked to go up and pet her, see her—and she had such a nice history behind her and they all wanted to go see Reckless.”

  Miller recalled the health problems that developed late in life. “She had severe arthritis in her older years. She was torn up pretty bad, which is common for what she did over in Korea. . . . It worked her joints pretty hard.” But, according to Miller, that wasn’t the worst of her problems.

  “She was getting laminitis right at the end there. And that’s an incurable situation. That’s an inflammation of the coffin bone in the foot, and then the laminae are around it and there’s just no way to treat it. You can ease it and make them comfortable for a while, but eventually it will take them. We had to put [Triple Crown winner] Secretariat down because of laminitis. They call it ‘foundering.’”

  Doc Miller remembered her fondly as “just a good ol’ horse who stood her ground. She was a tough ol’ gal.”65

  Last Years: An Understanding Friend

  While the last years of Reckless’s life were quiet, they were not without meaning and purpose. Despite pain from various conditions including arthritis and laminitis, she continued serving the Marines. Not in any formal or sanctioned way, but as a sounding board and therapist of sorts for combat veterans.

  Postcard of Reckless after retirement.

  “Old timers would come down to feed her,” recalled Sergeant Art DiGrazia, one of Reckless’s handlers. “They’d be dressed in civilian clothes and say to me, ‘I served with her. I want to see her.’”66

  “I think a lot of people overlook the role that Sergeant Reckless played in so many Marines’ lives,” said Sergeant Lynn Mattocks, “and that is that solitude of being able to go down and sit there and just reminisce, or talk to her, or whatever. And it was rehabilitation, you know. Therapy. And not only for Korean veterans, but from Vietnam.

  “And it was the other thing [she did]. How she could also help people who just had deployments. Or the troops going to Hawaii, or the Philippines, or Japan. And family separation. No one will ever know the number of dependents that were left behind—wives, children. Or like me, I went out there when . . . I was going through terrible things and it was great to have that therapy.

  “I spent a lot of time just going by and saying, ‘Hi.’ How many [Marines] got solitude and relief from Sergeant Reckless? She took their minds away from it all.

  “I’m speaking first-hand what Sergeant Reckless did for me. And I know from earlier days—which really didn’t dawn on me until later on—some of the guys who had been with her when they would go down there and just sit down there and drink a Coke and whatever. And would just sit there, and talked to her and give her a carrot, you know? It was just solitude. It
was genuinely a giving back.

  “She didn’t quit serving the Marines when she came back from Korea and retired at Camp Pendleton. She always continued to serve.”67

  Staff Sergeant Reckless continued to serve the Marines she loved, and who loved her more than she could know, until May 13, 1968, when she passed away, at the age of twenty.

  CHAPTER 12

  RECKLESS’S FOALS

  FEARLESS, DAUNTLESS, AND CHESTY

  Frenzy over First Foal Fearless

  When the media learned about the arrival of Reckless’s first foal, they went crazy with coverage.

  But the story of Fearless’s conception and birth has never been told any better than by an eyewitness to the excitement. Decades after he served with the Marines in Korea, the late Roy “Boots” Reynolds now is a popular western artist, cartoonist, and humorist. The following account was originally published in Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover’s Soul and is excerpted here with permission. It shows what can happen when officers know everything and enlisted men nothing.

  Reckless stands proudly next to her newborn colt, Fearless. USMC History Division, Quantico, VA

  Sergeant Reckless, a Mighty Marine by Boots Reynolds

  I figured they’d at least offer me a blindfold or maybe a cigarette. My commanding officer marched back and forth in front of me and I could hear the crowd outside growing restless.

  “You know why you’re in here, don’t you? I’m saving your life. You’ve ruined hers. You’ve destroyed her reputation along with that of the baby.”

  “It’s a foal, sir. It’s a foal, not a baby horse,” I replied meekly.

  “I don’t care what the technical term is. The fact remains you have ruined its life, its mother’s reputation and, in all probability, made a laughingstock of the Marine Corps!” he growled. “Now, sit yourself down and think about the consequences of your actions while I go out there and see what I can do to straighten out this mess!”