05/25/2026
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day, remembering what this day is all about.
This is the retirement ceremony for Staff Sgt. Reckless at Camp Pendleton. She is shown reviewing the Marines as they parade before her.
She was originally named Ah Chim Hai which translates to "Morning Flame" or "Flame-of-the-Morning” which was also the name of her dam, a racehorse at the Seoul race track.
She was purchased in October 1952 for $250 from a Korean stableboy who worked at the Seoul racetrack and needed the money to buy an artificial leg for his sister. Members of the United States Marine Corps. purchased Reckless to carry supplies and equipment to the soldiers on the front lines.
She quickly became part of the unit and was allowed to roam freely throughout the camp, entering the Marines' tents, where she would sleep on cold nights, and was known for her ability to eat nearly anything, including scrambled eggs, beer, Coca-Cola and reportedly $30 worth of poker chips.
She served in numerous combat actions during the Korean War, carrying supplies and ammunition, and was also used to evacuate the wounded. Learning each supply route after only a couple of trips, she often traveled to deliver supplies to the troops on her own, without benefit of a handler.
The highlight of her nine-month military career came in late March 1953 during the Battle for Outpost Vegas where she made 51 solo trips to resupply several front line units. She was wounded twice in combat and given the battlefield rank of corporal in 1953. Later she was promoted to Sergeant in 1954.
In 1953 her Marine Unit issued a challenge to Native Dancer, who was defeating all comers for a Match Race in Korea at Upsan Downs a racetrack fashioned by the Marines. The challenge was never taken up by the Dancer’s connections.
She also became the first horse in the Marine Corps known to have participated in an amphibious landing, and following the war was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal as well as other military honors.
She left Korea with her Marine Unit and after living briefly with her handler, Lieutenant Eric Pedersen, she resided at Camp Pendleton until her death in 1968.
A statue of Staff Sgt. Reckless was unveiled on July 26, 2013, in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, one day before the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. There is a lock of her tail hair in the base of the statue.
A memorial to Staff Sgt. Reckless at Camp Pendleton was dedicated on October 26, 2016. It is similar to the one located at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The Kentucky Horse Park also has a statue of Staff Sgt. Reckless.
She was honored at Aqueduct racetrack on November 10, 1989 where the first race on the card was named after her. In 1997, LIFE magazine listed her as one of America's 100 all-time heroes.
There are at least three books about Staff Sgt. Reckless. The first is They Called Her Reckless by Janet Barrett and the second is Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse by Robin Hutton and the last one is: Reckless: The Pride of the Marines by Andrew Geer.
