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her baptism of fire.” That December, a unit noticed that an enemy trench was being dug nearby. Pedersen’s platoon was tasked with haltering their “building program.”
Before Reckless and her unit could reach the battleground, they had to cover 2 1/2-miles of uneven terrain, including an exposed stretch and a “steep, breathtaking” 500-yard incline at the end. Despite the palpable tension, Reckless remained unperturbed. Just before they reached the ridge, the filly “nudged Latham for a piece of chocolate” (“No pogey bait ‘til this is over,” he told her sorrowfully). Coleman took charge of Reckless while the other members of the platoon scrambled to their positions. As soon as the shooting commenced, the filly’s demeanor changed dramatically. The first time she heard the sound of a recoilless rifle, Reckless leaped clean into the air and seemed ready to bolt. With some effort, Coleman restrained her and pleaded, “Take it easy, Reckless!” Incredibly, after hearing a few more shots, she began to settle down. For the rest of the day, Reckless trekked up and down the mountain, resupply- ing her unit five times. During her last trip, she stopped less than forty feet behind a booming recoilless rifle and began rooting around in the grass for something to eat.
Reckless received a heroine’s welcome when she returned to camp. As a reward, Latham gave the filly a can of beer. “She drank it,” a witness remembered, “and asked for more.” Unfortunately, a “cold, sweeping rain” fell over the area that night. Although Reckless’ bunker was waterproof, she was still keyed up from the battle and couldn’t get to sleep. The filly slogged through the camp until she reached Latham’s tent. Along with two other officers,
The first time Reckless heard the sound of a recoilless rifle, she leaped clean into the air and seemed ready to bolt, but after hearing a few more shots, she began to settle down.
Latham welcomed Reckless and gently dried her off. As they looked on, the filly lay down in front of his stove and drifted off.
As harrowing as her first brush with combat had been, one of the members of Reckless’ platoon inadvertently put Reckless in more danger than the enemy ever had. During a period of inactivity in late December, a well- meaning private named Arnold Baker decided that the filly wasn’t getting enough exercise. Unfortunately, Pedersen had forbidden any soldiers from riding Reckless because her left hip had been permanently weakened after an accident with a jeep. Baker conveniently forgot his orders. One day, the private led the filly from her paddock, neglecting to outfit her with a bridle, and clambered onto her back. As soon as Baker dug his heels into Reckless’ flanks,
she burst into an exuberant gallop. Caught
off guard, the private began to howl, “Whoa, Reckless, whoa!” as he pulled at her halter. His plead “only spurred her on.” To Baker’s horror, the filly turned and began to race towards the front lines. Before he could rein her in, she charged out of the camp. “Reckless is loose!”
a shocked sentry shouted into his telephone. “She’s through the gate and headin’ for Unggok (a nearby battle zone).”
An anxious crowd of marines – as many as 500, by one account – gathered on a hill to watch Reckless’ progress. Just when it looked like the situation couldn’t get any worse, she started to gallop across a minefield. At this point, one commander reported, the soldier “began to shout in desperation.”
“Go back, Reckless! Go back!” a man cried.
“Let’s shoot in front of her, maybe that’ll turn her,” another suggested.
“Who’s that on her?” one soldier piped up.
“Wait’ll Latham gets hold of him,” some- body replied.
Suddenly, “as though enough running was enough,” Reckless turned and made a lazy circle back towards camp. She was in excellent spirits. Breathing heavily, she pranced past the relieved marines until she found Sergeant Latham. As usual, the filly seemed eager to tell him “what a great run she had just had.” Trembling, Arnold Baker dismounted and stumbled over to his commander, who was in a decidedly less pleasant mood than Reckless. Although nobody recorded exactly how Latham punished Baker, one officer quipped, “Marine platoon sergeants have their own way of taking care of thoughtless young men who disobey orders.”
Reckless’ finest hour came during the
Battle of Panmunjom Vegas, also known as
the Battle of Vegas Hill. From the outset, it became clear that it was no ordinary skirmish. “The fury of the battle reached such heights,”
a witness observed, “that veterans of the first and middle wars were unable to compare it with previous engagements.” At the height of the conflict, it was estimated that the American lines were hammered by 500 artillery rounds and mortar shells per minute. The barrage
led to horrendous casualties. Over the course
of less than two hours, one company of 600 men was reduced to just sixteen. Another unit fared almost as badly. Without exaggeration, a lieutenant colonel named Andrew Geer wrote, “The savagery of the battle for the so-called Nevada complex has never been equaled in Marine Corps history.”
When Pedersen and his unit were called on to assist their beleaguered comrades, Reckless
“The fury of the battle reached such heights, that veterans of the first and middle wars were unable to compare it with previous engagements.”
©USMC photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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