Meet Reckless: The Famous Marine
Meet one of the most famous Marines to ever serve with the USMC…. and she wasn’t even an American…. or human.
The Context: Korean War Stalemate
By October of 1952, the Korean War was at a complete stalemate. The front lines had more or less stabilized where the original border had been and the U.N. Forces were quite literally holding the line via a series of hills that ran along the 38th parallel. The plan was simple, just hold the line long enough, so as to force both the Chinese and North Koreans to the peace table.
The Nevada Cities
One of these hills was known as “The Nevada Cities,” which were held by U.S. Marines. Now the Nevada Cities (also known as the Iron Triangle) were actually three hills named ‘Carson,’ ‘Reno,’ and ‘Vegas’. They were given these names because it was a gamble whether the Marines would be able to hold their positions if/when the enemy attacked. And it must be pointed out, if those hills fell, the Communist forces would have a clear path to Seoul—a very bad thing.
Anyway, the Marines went to work in fortifying the three hilltops. A task easier said than done since vehicles could not drive up the steep slopes and since lugging hundreds of pounds of equipment sucked royally, the decision was made to locate and acquire either a horse or a mule to help out.
The Journey of Reckless
Which they eventually did when they visited a racetrack in Seoul and found a jockey who was willing to sell them his horse, as he needed the money to buy his sister a prosthetic limb. That horse would be taken in by the Americans and renamed “Reckless”. One of the main tasks she would have was to transport ammunition for the recoilless rifles (also known as “Reckless Rifles”) the Marines had deployed to each hilltop.
After a training period where she had to learn not to fear explosions, Reckless soon got to work. During this time, she also learned how to avoid barb wire, how not to stand too close to the recoilless rifles so she would not get hurt, and she even learned to find cover if a Marine yelled “incoming!”. Apart from transporting ammunition and supplies to the Marines on the Nevada Hills, Reckless was also used to string communication cables between outposts. It was also during this time Reckless was seen less and less like a horse and more like one of the Marines. Reckless became “one of the guys”; she loved bacon and eggs, loved beer, and if someone was mixing drinks, she would come up to that person, give them a nudge, and stick out her lower lip so she could enjoy a mixed drink as well. 100% Serious.
But don’t think she was just some pet/mascot for the Marines. She could carry up to 6 rounds of recoilless rifles ammo in a single trip and in half the time it took a single Marine carrying 2 rounds. It was not long before Chinese Forces saw this and actually tried to target Reckless. To which the Marines took great offense and made the Chinese Forces pay for trying to kill one of their own.
The Fierce Battle of March 1953
But on March 26th, 1953, the Chinese tried to make one last push to take the Nevada Cities, and for the next four days, it was pure hell. The hilltops changed hands multiple times and there was so much gunfire that the soldiers on the ground could not even verbally communicate. Yet, throughout the battle, Reckless continued to run ammunition to the Marine positions and come back with the occasional wounded Marine. Despite being wounded, Reckless continued to make her runs and indeed survived the battle. Here she would be credited with carrying up to 9000 lbs of ammunition to the Marines and would make up to 51 trips in a single day.
The Marines were able to hold the line and eventually they were relieved by Turkish troops before being sent to the rear for some much-needed R&R. And with them, Reckless. But this is not the end of her story, so look out for Pt. 2.
~NC
