<div>From racecourse to battlefield?dauntless, fearless, and exemplar of <I>Semper Fi</I>?she was Reckless, ?pride of the Marines.”<br><BR>A Mongolian mare who started out on the Korean racetrack circuit, Ah-Chim-Hai, or Flame-in-the-Morning, belonged to a boy named Kim-Huk-Moon. To buy a prosthetic leg for his sister, Kim made the difficult decision to sell his beloved companion. Lieutenant Eric Pedersen purchased the bodacious mare and renamed her Reckless, for the Recoilless Rifles Platoon of the 5th Marines.<BR><BR>The four-legged equine braved minefields to deliver ammunition to her division on the front lines. In one day alone, performing fifty-one trips up and down treacherous terrain, covering thirty-five miles, and rescuing wounded comrades-in-arms, Reckless demonstrated her devotion to the Marines who had become her herd.<BR><BR>Despite only measuring about thirteen hands, this pint-sized equine became an American hero. Reckless was awarded two Purple Hearts for her valor and was promoted to staff sergeant twice, a distinction never bestowed upon an animal before or since.<BR><BR>Author <B>Robin Hutton</B> has reignited excitement about this legend, realizing the Sgt. Reckless Monument at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and now overseeing the creation of a second memorial at Camp Pendleton, California, where Reckless lived out the rest of her days.<BR></div>