'Sgt. Reckless' remembered: Hero horse of Korean War

This undated photo shows the war horse Reckless carrying a recoilless rifle during the 1950-53 Korean War. Courtesy of Doremi Entertainment

By Kim Se-jeong

• Published Jun 25, 2025 7:00 AM KST

Commemorating a war is about remembering the people who sacrificed their lives for a cause. As South Korea marks the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War on Wednesday, however, there is also a horse worth remembering: Reckless.

A recently published Korean-language book, "Sgt. Reckless: Korean War Horse," tells the story of a racehorse that played a vital role during one of the war’s fiercest battles. It is a Korean translation of the book originally published in the U.S. in 2015 by Robin Hutton, who spent years researching the horse’s life.

On March 26, 1953, Chinese forces launched a massive artillery barrage against the U.S. first Marine Division and South Korean troops in what is now Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, then known as the Nevada Outpost.

It became one of the bloodiest battles of the war for the U.S. Marines. Though it lasted only five days, it resulted in nearly 1,000 casualties on the U.S. and South Korean side and an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 on the Chinese side.

The battle cemented the legacy of Reckless, as she tirelessly transported ammunition and even carried wounded soldiers to safety under intense fire.

“I never thought Reckless would survive. I was sure she would eventually die. But she made it. Every time she went up and down Vegas, an angel must have been riding on her back,” according Sgt. Harold Wadley, who is quoted in the book.

“She would stretch out her head and neck to balance the 75mm shells on her back and walk as if she knew exactly where she needed to go. Reckless truly understood her mission. When soldiers tied a wounded comrade to her saddle, she would carry them through shellfire and mortar blasts to safety. Once medics unloaded the wounded and reloaded her with ammunition, she would turn around on her own and head back to the front lines. She kept moving without rest,” Wadley added.

Born in Seoul, bound for battle

Reckless was born in 1949 in Seoul. Her original name was Achimhae, meaning "Flame of the Morning" or morning sun in Korean. She belonged to a man known as Kim Huk-moon, a renowned horseman.

On Oct. 26, 1952, U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Eric Peterson visited a Seoul racetrack in search of a horse to transport supplies and ammunition through the mountainous terrain of Korea. Kim, needing money to buy prosthetic legs for his sister, who had been injured by a landmine, sold Reckless to Peterson for $250.

Her breed is uncertain, but she is widely believed to be either Mongolian or Halla, a cross between the native Jeju horse and a thoroughbred.

As for how she got her new name, the author explains that it was a natural choice.

"'Reckless! Let’s call the horse Reckless!' a shout rang out among the Marines surrounding the new recruit. It didn’t seem like a fitting name for the red mare … but for the recoilless rifle platoon of the U.S. 5th Marine Regiment, it was perfect. Reckless had been the radio call sign for the 5th Regiment during the Korean War, and it aptly captured the boldness of a unit that relied heavily on the notoriously unpredictable recoilless rifle."

As training began, soldiers quickly noticed her cleverness.

"When the sound of mortars rang out, you could see Reckless' small ears twitch. She would quickly drop to the ground, and after the mortar exploded, she would dash to the bunker. It was truly an amazing sight," said Sgt. Willard Berry.

Reckless' diet also made the war horse unique, according to the book.

She ate almost anything, including scrambled eggs, coffee, peanut butter, canned luncheon meat, Coca-Cola, beer and even whiskey.

“Reckless made the soldiers burst into laughter with her adorable struggle to scrape peanut butter off the roof of her mouth using her tongue. The more she scrunched up her face in the effort, the harder the soldiers laughed,” the author recounts.

After the war

Four months after the Nevada Outpost battle in July 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, ending open hostilities.

One of the first Marines to return home was Lt. Col. Andrew Geer, who had kept detailed notes about Reckless during the war.

On April 10, 1954, Reckless, still in Korea, was officially awarded the rank of sergeant by the U.S. Marine Corps.

One week later, the Saturday Evening Post, a weekly magazine, published an article on Reckless' bravery and service during the war. The article was written by Geer, and it made the war horse a national hero. The article also sparked a grassroots campaign to bring her to the U.S. She arrived in San Francisco on Nov. 10, 1954.

Geer later published a second article in 1955, followed by a book titled, "Reckless: Pride of the Marines." On June 12, 1957, Reckless was again promoted to staff sergeant, the first time an animal became a staff sergeant in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Reckless spent the rest of her life at Camp Pendleton, California, where she gave birth to four foals. She died on May 13, 1968, due to a leg injury compounded by arthritis in her back.

Honoring a hero

In 2013, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, a statue of Reckless carrying ammunition was installed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia. Five more monuments across the U.S. followed.

In 2018, a statue of Reckless was also erected in Korea, at Yeoncheon Gorangpo History Park near the Nevada Outpost battlefield, to honor her extraordinary service.