As a statue of an American war hero was unveiled earlier this month in Kentucky, representatives from Crete were on hand to raise a toast.
A statue of Sergeant Reckless, a war horse who served alongside U.S. Marines during the Korean War, was unveiled May 12 at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The facility hosts educational events and exhibitions about horses, and now will serve Sergeant Reckless beer, the flagship American pale ale from Evil Horse Brewing Co. in Crete.
The beer was introduced at the park on May 12 during the unveiling of the life-size bronze statue of Sergeant Reckless.
“We just feel it’s a pretty cool story and worthy to name a beer after,” said Steve Kamp, Evil Horse brewmaster and brewery co-owner.
The story of Sergeant Reckless captured the heart and mind of Robin Hutton, who wrote the 2014 book, “Sgt. Reckless — America’s War Horse,” and whose non-profit organization raised the funds for the new monument in Kentucky.
The book details how Sergeant Reckless served as a pack horse for the Recoilless Rifle Platoon in the 5th Marine Regiment’s Anti-Tank Company. Reckless showed her heroics during the Battle of Outpost Vegas in 1953 when she made 51 trips under enemy fire in one day, carrying more than 9,000 pounds of ammunition to her boys in combat, and transporting wounded men back to safety. When the company was not engaged in combat, she would roam through camp, enter Marines’ tents to sleep and was known to eat scrambled eggs, beer and even enjoy morning coffee.
Four Marines who had served with Sergeant Reckless attended the monument unveiling in Kentucky, as did Hutton.
“To me, it’s the greatest horse story I had never heard about,” Hutton said. “It’s an amazing story of endurance and love for her Marines.”
Hutton had discovered the story in 2007 and immediately started working on a screenplay about the heroic horse.
But director Stephen Spielberg beat Hutton to the screen with a story about another horse with the 2009 film “Warhorse.”
But Hutton thinks the time is right again for a film about Sergeant Reckless, and she has resumed lobbying for her screenplay in Hollywood.
Besides writing the book about Sergeant Reckless, Hutton also has been advocating for monuments to the war horse all over the country. She’s helped make monuments happen at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia and at Camp Pendleton in California, where Sergeant Reckless is buried.
Hutton said telling the story of Sergeant Reckless also helps tell the story of the Marines who served in Korea in what is often called “the forgotten war.”
And she said she loves that there’s a beer named after Sergeant Reckless in Crete.
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“I love their beer,” Hutton said.
Veterans seem to like Sergeant Reckless APA, too, Kamp said.
He described the beer as not very bitter, but balanced and full of hops, aroma and flavor. A mass market comparison would be Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, he said.
Hutton reached out to Kamp last year and attended Evil Horse’s Sergeant Reckless Day last summer at HITS Balmoral Park in Crete.
Kamp said he’s planning another Sergeant Reckless Day on the third weekend of July, this time at the brewery, 1338 Main St. in Crete.
The event is a way to honor veterans and will feature Clydesdale horses that people can pet, he said.
And Hutton will be there again, signing her book about Sergeant Reckless.
Besides Kentucky Horse Park, Sergeant Reckless APA is served at various locations in the Southland, including Evil Horse.
Kamp and several of his friends opened Evil Horse in 2016 after he had been home brewing for about 30 years.
Sergeant Reckless APA is one several horse themed beers at the brewery, though the brewery’s name doesn’t allude to the equine hero of the Korean War. Kamp said Evil Horse references a horse he knew which he described as “bad” and who didn’t like humans.
