SSgt Reckless and PFC Fearless, Camp Pendleton, circa 1959. From the Thomas F. Riley Collection (COLL/3876), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections.
In 1952, Lieutenant Eric Pedersen purchased Reckless from a Korean stableboy to be used to carry ammunition through the mountainous terrain that his platoon was stationed in. The Marines taught her battlefield survival skills, but she was wounded twice in battle. For these wounds, Reckless was awarded two purple hearts.
When the Korean War ended, Reckless was brought to the United States and retired to Camp Pendleton until her death in 1968.
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