HORSE ALERT: An American Hero

This came from the Indiana Trail Riders Yahoo group I belong to. It's a fabulous article about a horse in Korea who spent her war life bringing artillary up the hill and casualities down the hill amidst shells exploding all around her. She was retired with rank of staff sargeant. She was included in a book of American heros which included, Washington, Lincoln and Reckless, the horse. I've asked permission to include this article. I hope I don't have to take it down.

From: Cowgirl Georgia
To: Indiana Trail Riders
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 10:32 AM
Subject: [The EDGe] Fw: Amazing horse in USMC

From: Tim Beckstrand
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 10:10 PM
Subject: FW: Amazing horse in USMS>
>
>Amazing horse in USMC
>
>Reckless, the mare.
>
>This horse was a pack horse during the Korean
war, and she
>carried recoilless rifles, ammunition and
supplies to
>Marines. Nothing too unusual about that, lots
of animals
>got pressed into doing pack chores in many
wars.
>
>But this horse did something more. During the
battle for
>a location called Outpost Vegas, this mare
made 51 trips
>up and down the hill, on the way up she
carried
>ammunition, and on the way down she carried
wounded
>soldiers.
>
>What was so amazing? Well, she
made every one of those
>trips without anyone leading
her.
>
>One can imagine a horse carrying a wounded
soldier, being
>smacked on the rump at the top of the
hill, and heading
>back to the "safety" of the rear. But
to imagine the same
>horse, loaded with ammunition, and
trudging back to the
>battle where artillery is going off,
without anyone
>leading her is unbelievable. To know that
she would make
>50 of those trips is unheard of. How many
horses would
>even make it back to the barn once, let
alone return to
>the soldiers in the field even a single
time?
>
>Here is a clip of her story and photos to prove
where she
>was and what she did. (You will
have to copy and past this address into your internet
browser)
>
>http://www.youtube.com/embed/YIo3ZfA9da0
>
>Reckless
was retired at the Marine Corps Base in Camp
>Pendleton
where a General issued the following order:
>"She was
never to carry any more weight on her back except
>her own
blankets." She died in 1968 at the age of 20.
>
>P.S.
How bad was the battle for Outpost Vegas?
Artillery
>rounds fell at the rate of 500 per hour, and
only two men
>made it out alive without wounds. Just two.
And also a
>horse, and she was wounded
twice.

Please watch the UTube video of the story of Reckless. YOU WILL BE AMAZED.