1. Sergeant Reckless quickly became part of the unit and was allowed to roam freely through camp, entering the Marines' tents, where she would sleep on cold nights, and was known for her willingness to eat nearly anything, including scrambled eggs, beer, Coca-Cola and, once, about $30 worth of poker chips.
Sergeant Reckless served in numerous combat actions during the Korean War, carrying supplies and ammunition, and was used to evacuate wounded.
Sergeant Reckless was wounded in combat twice and was given the battlefield rank of corporal in 1953 and then a battlefield promotion to sergeant in 1954, several months after the war ended.
Sergeant Reckless 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, inclusion in her unit's Presidential Unit Citations from two countries, and other military honors.
Sergeant Reckless was retired and brought to the United States after the war, where she made appearances on television and participated in the United States Marine Corps birthday ball.
Sergeant Reckless was officially promoted to staff sergeant in 1959 by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Sergeant Reckless gave birth to four foals in the US, and died in May 1968.
On May 12,2018, a bronze statue of Sergeant Reckless was placed and dedicated in the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington Kentucky.
Sergeant Reckless was chestnut colored with a blaze and three white stockings.
Sergeant Reckless was sold to the Marines by her owner, a young Korean stableboy called Kim Huk-moon, though that was not his real name.
Sergeant Reckless had a gentle disposition and soon developed such a rapport with the troops that she was allowed to freely roam about the camp and entered tents at will, sometimes sleeping inside with the troops, and even lying down next to Latham's warm tent stove on cold nights.
Sergeant Reckless was fond of a wide variety of foodstuffs, entertaining the platoon by eating scrambled eggs and drinking Coca-Cola and beer.
Sergeant Reckless was known to eat bacon, buttered toast, chocolate bars, hard candy, shredded wheat, peanut butter sandwiches and mashed potatoes.
Sergeant Reckless's tastes were not confined to foodstuffs; she once ate her horse blanket, and on another occasion ate $30 worth of Latham's winning poker chips.
Sergeant Reckless even appeared to take an interest in the operation of the weapon.
Sergeant Reckless was wounded twice during the battle: once when she was hit by shrapnel over the left eye and another time on her left flank.
Sergeant Reckless became the first horse in the Marine Corps known to have participated in an amphibious landing when the 5th moved from Camp Casey to Inchon, planning to participate in amphibious landings hundreds of miles south of Inchon.
Sergeant Reckless refused to take her on board his clean ship, which had won an award for being the cleanest ship in the previous two years.
Sergeant Reckless was allowed on board after the Marines produced the loading plan, approved by him, which specifically listed Reckless and her equipment.
Sergeant Reckless was given a red and gold blanket with insignia.
Pate personally presided over the ceremony, and Sergeant Reckless was honored with a 19-gun salute and a 1,700-man parade of Marines from her wartime unit.
Sergeant Reckless was an early example of an animal holding official rank in a branch of the United States military.
An article in The Saturday Evening Post, published on April 17,1954, while Sergeant Reckless was still in Korea, resulted in a campaign by American supporters to get the Marines to bring her to the United States.
An executive at Pacific Transport Lines, Stan Coppel, read the article and offered to let Sergeant Reckless ride free on one of his company's ships from Yokohama to San Francisco.
Sergeant Reckless left Korea for Japan aboard a 1st Marine Aircraft Wing transport plane.
Sergeant Reckless then sailed from Yokohama on October 22 aboard the SS Pacific Transport, due in San Francisco on November 5,1954.
Sergeant Reckless got sick during the storm and was once knocked out of her stall onto the deck by the storm, which happened near the end of the trip.
Sergeant Reckless was constantly the center of attraction and was fully aware of her importance.
Sergeant Reckless was led off the ship by Lieutenant Pedersen and set foot on American soil in San Francisco on November 10,1954, coincidentally the anniversary of the creation of the Marine Corps.
Sergeant Reckless was kept by Pedersen's family for a brief time before moving to a more permanent home with the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.
Sergeant Reckless made several public appearances, including Art Linkletter's show House Party, but had to cancel an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show due to the typhoon.
Sergeant Reckless was well cared for and treated as a VIP during her time at Camp Pendleton.
Sergeant Reckless retired from active service with full military honors at Camp Pendleton on November 10,1960.
Sergeant Reckless was provided free quarters and feed in lieu of retirement pay, per Marine Corps documents.
Sergeant Reckless developed arthritis in her back as she aged and injured herself on May 13,1968, by falling into a barbed wire fence.
Sergeant Reckless died under sedation while her wounds were being treated.
In 1997, Sergeant Reckless was listed by LIFE magazine as one of America's 100 all-time heroes.
On 28 July 2016, Sergeant Reckless was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for her service between 1952 and 1953.