Animals Who Helped Establish Freedom

Animals Who Helped Establish Freedom

I feel it's important to recognize those who came before us and allow us to have the freedoms and privileges that we do. Today, I want to honor one of many animals that have helped during times of war.

You may have heard of her before. She has been seen in books, documentaries, and movies portraying her courage and zest for life. I'm referring to Sergeant Reckless , the horse that helped The US Marines during the Korean Conflict.

She was sold to a Marine by a young Korean boy. She was purchased to help carry ammunition over the rugged terrain of South Korea. She was sold for $250. Her name is translated as Flame of the Morning and boy, did she have a fire within her. The Marines renamed her Reckless after the gun she carried the ammunition for.  She quickly earned the love and respect of the Marines that were fortunate enough to know her.

She made history for several reasons. One was where she made 51 trips carrying ammunition through enemy fire. These 51 trips amounted to carrying five tons of ammunition over 35 miles in open rice patties up steep mountains. She also was known to carry wounded soldiers back down the mountain to safety on her journeys back down. She made 95% of these trips on her own unaccompanied by humans. I would say reckless knew her job and valued helping the people around her. Reckless was wounded twice but she continued on. She was also trained to lower herself to the ground when the firing got too intense.

In reading more about her from the book Sergeant Reckless, she was also well known for having a voracious appetite. She was known to eat pancakes, hats, scrambled eggs, cake, and coffee as well as Coca-Cola. She also enjoyed sharing a beer with the Marines after a hard day's work.

As I continue to learn more about Sergeant Reckless, I'm impressed by her level of determination. She didn't let harsh frontline conditions hinder her from doing what she set her mind to do. I'm also impressed that she made so many harsh and difficult trips up a 45-degree slope with heavy ammunition all on her own.

Sergeant reckless retired in 1960 and she died in 1968. She has many medals of honor, two Purple Hearts, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with Star and many other recognitions.

Thank you Sergeant Reckless for helping to establish freedom around the world.

Animals are courageous.

Animals are dedicated.

Animals are determined.

When I see these examples of courage, I'm thankful to learn about this part of history. I also feel the animals teach us and remind us that we can be courageous and determined and dedicated in our lives. They set an example for us humans.

You can read more about Sergeant Reckless from these sites:

https://sgtreckless.com/about-reckless  The Book

https://www.horsenation.com/2016/05/30/historys-greatest-war-horses/  Horse Nation article