Overview

From the racetracks of Seoul to the battlegrounds of the Korean War, Reckless was a horse whose strength, tenacity, and relentless spirit made her a hero among a regiment of US Marines fighting for their lives on the front lines. Her Korean name was Ah-Chim-Hai, meaning Flame-of-the-Morning. A four-year-old chestnut-colored Mongolian racehorse with a white blaze down her face and three white stockings, she once amazed the crowds in Seoul with her remarkable speed. But the star racer was soon sold to an American marine and trained to carry heavy loads of artillery shells up and down steep hills under a barrage of bullets and bombs. The marines renamed her Reckless. Reckless soon proved fearless under fire, boldly trekking alone through the fiery gauntlet, exposed to explosions and shrapnel. For months, her drive and determination kept the marines' guns blazing, while inspiring them with her singular charm. During one day of battle alone, she made fifty-one trips up and down a crucial hill, covering at least twenty-five miles in the heat of combat. On some of her uphill treks, Reckless shielded human reinforcements. The Chinese, soon discovering the unique bravery of this magnificent animal, made a special effort to kill her. But Reckless never slowed. As months passed and the enemy grew bolder, the men came to appreciate her not just as a horse but as a weapon and, eventually, as a fellow marine. In Reckless, Tom Clavin, national bestselling coauthor of Halsey's Typhoon, tells the unlikely story of a racehorse who truly became a war hero, beloved by the US Marine Corps and decorated for bravery. A moving reminder of the unbreakable bond between people and animals, Reckless is a powerful tale of courage, survival, and even love in the face of overwhelming odds.

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9781483021164

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Reviews

Within the relentless account of the bravery of many men, the featured character is a Mongolian racehorse, recruited to carry the heavy ammunition for a recoilless rifle platoon...The fame of the stalwart horse, who gave added resonance to the idea of Semper Fi, grew both within the Corps and among the folks at home...A blood-soaked war story about a courageous horse. -- Kirkus Reviews When Lieutenant Eric Pederson saw a need to find a better way to carry artillery shells to advanced positions during the Korean War, he thought a horse would do the trick. He never imagined that his trip to a Korean racetrack would produce an American hero...Includes dozens of personal stories recounting the heroics and sacrifices of the marines. In 2013, a statue of Reckless was installed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. A fitting tribute to a real warhorse. -- Booklist Who ever thought such a story could exist? A heroic horse fighting with the Marines in the Korean War? But it emphatically does. It is dramatic and poignant-both the human and the equine parts-and comes completely alive in Tom Clavin's narrative. -- S. C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of the Summer Moon War can often make unlikely heroes, and in this book Tom Clavin introduces us to the unlikeliest hero of all. Reckless is an inspiring tale of courage and endurance by a brave horse who unflinchingly risked death to help the men she loved, winning for herself a role in Marine Corps history. -- Larry Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Biggest Brother Tom Clavin's Reckless reads like a wonderful and inspiring combination of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit and Unbroken. The star of this book might be a Mongolian mare, but she was an American war hero, and her amazing story deserves to be told, which Clavin so ably does. This would make a hell of a movie. -- Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Quest

Author Information

TOM CLAVIN is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and has worked as a newspaper and web site editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for The New York Times. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. His books include The Heart of Everything That Is and the bestselling Frontier trilogy, Dodge City, Wild Bill and Tombstone. He lives in Sag Harbor, NY. Jim Manchester is a retired English and theater teacher in Rhode Island. He has directed and acted in many theatrical productions over the years and has done voice-over work in the Providence area. Jim resides in the lovely seaport town of Bristol, Rhode Island.

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