H O R S E S I N H I S TO R Y
Sgt. Reckless, U.S.M.C. Korean War Horse Hero by N. G. Quinlan
an invaluable member of his platoon. When he first drove into camp with the filly in tow on a makeshift float, some of the men doubted his sanity. There were a few who even wondered if the horse had been brought to them for food. Yet as the young lieutenant explained his plan, the soldiers began to see the sense of it all. The recoilless rifle was a large weapon which fired 75mm shells, each one weighing twenty-four pounds. The rifle, which was more like a bazooka or small cannon than a rifle, was almost seven feet long, weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds (or about fifty-two kilograms) and required three men to lift it. The weapon had a massive backblast that was not only dangerous to anyone standing behind it, but also served to alert enemy troops as to its whereabouts. It soon became known as the ‘Reckless Rifle’, partly as a play on its actual name and partly because it was thought that a soldier had to be somewhat reckless to use it. The mare became a favourite of the
Staff Sergeant Reckless monument dedication ceremony. Image: Sgt Dylan Overbay.
Marines and was soon given the name Reckless. She would eat anything
I
n the Korea Strait there lies a
mine and young Kim needed the money
volcanic island named Jeju. In the
to purchase a prosthetic limb for her.
thirteenth century, after invading
and capturing Korea, the Mongolian army established a grazing area on Jeju for their many cavalry horses. From this ancient bloodline came one of the greatest equine heroes in history… the
scrambled eggs, Hershey bars, beer, coffee, blankets, hats and, on one
Through an interpreter, Kim told
occasion, $30 worth of poker chips.
Pedersen that the mare’s name was
Her gentle nature meant that she was
Ah-Chim-Hai, which means ‘Flame of
allowed to roam at will throughout the
the Morning’. She was aged four years
camp. During the colder nights, she
and three months, stood just over
would often enter the soldiers’ tents and
thirteen hands high and had a white
lie down next to a stove.
sorrel mare who would come to be
blaze from forehead to muzzle. Though
known as Sergeant Reckless.
she was relatively small – a result of her
In October 1952, when U.S. Marine
Mongolian heritage – Lt. Pedersen liked
Corps Lieutenant Eric Pedersen needed
the look of her, later saying that she
a pack animal to carry ammunition,
possessed “an intelligent eye and fine
he paid $250 from his own funds to
head”. He brought her back to his unit,
purchase a mare at the racetrack in
and everything, including pancakes,
the Recoilless Rifle Platoon of the 5th
In March of 1953, the Marines were struggling to retake a rugged hilly area known as Outpost Vegas. In one memorable day, Reckless made a total of fifty-one trips up the steep slopes and carried three hundred and eighty-six rounds of ammunition from the supply
Seoul. The reluctant seller, a young
Marines.
Korean boy named Kim Huk Moon,
Lt. Pedersen was a lifelong horseman
of her burden was almost five tons,
had one very special reason for selling
who had grown up in Wyoming and
and all of it was carried while the battle
his much-loved horse. His older sister
Arizona. He knew that the horse would
raged and shells exploded around
Chung Soon had lost her leg to a land
be no mere mascot, but would become
her at a rate of about five hundred
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point to the firing line. The total weight
