Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse
By: Robin Hutton / Narrated By: Susan Boyce
Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
The Marines were her herd!
Ahhhh, how I do love a book that features an animal! And that Sgt. Reckless is also a grand piece of history, both military and otherwise, just adds to my enjoyment!
Bred as a Korean racehorse named after her mother, whose Korean name translates to Flame in the Morning, Sgt. Reckless became one of the most important components in the working machine that was the Marine’s 5th. Not only was she absolutely necessary in battle, carrying ammo canister after ammo canister, she was one of the gang. She interacted with the men, eating their PBJs, drinking their sodas and beer, interjecting herself into their conversations, even keeping a poker face during their game nights.
There is some really good war writing in this book; the battle for Outpost Vegas is vivid and hard-hitting and depicts war with its never-ending noise and chaos and with the horrors of men torn apart and vaporized. But through it all, Sgt. Reckless worked, delivering ammo up the hill, bringing the dead and wounded down it. Doing it all on her own, rarely needing to be guided by anyone, all on her exhausted own. She was a true marine hero who did it all because it was her job, because she was part of the regiment and the men she loved.
The story doesn’t end there. Sgt. Reckless also follows her life after the Korean “Police Action” to her life in the states. I found this to be a good thing; after all, animals who serve rarely have a happily ever after (and if I listen to animals who served during WWII and Vietnam, I usually wind up bawling my head off over their fates). But it also goes on to chronicle her entire life, plus the push to get her recognized as a war hero worthy of our remembrance.
This was a great animal pick of a book, and Susan Boyce does an admirable job narrating war, narrating peace, narrating the sometimes really quite humorous. And when she does writer Robin Hutton’s thoughts and words, she’s delightfully spot on as the sometimes less than graceful Hutton’s actions are conveyed.
Sgt. Reckless is a fairly short audiobook, listened to it in a day. Sure, I’m an audiobook hound with a lot of extra time, but I found ways of working in listening time as I moved through my daily tasks, through a couple of bus rides, through waiting in a doctor’s office because it’s such an engaging book, full of hardship, full of humor, full of genuine love and warmth. Definitely engaging; definitely worth the time; definitely worth the credit/asking price.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.