By Remy Sisk
“I have always been an animal lover – any kind of animal. I just really enjoy them and find a real peace in their presence.” So says Robin Hutton, an author, activist, and advocate for animals, particularly those that have served in war.
Hutton’s delve into the stories of war animals began in 2006 when she was working on a novel about horses but was dealing with writer’s block. Looking for inspiration, she turned to Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover’s Soul. “That book not only gave me inspiration, it changed my life, because in there was the story, ‘Sgt. Reckless, A Mighty Marine,’ written by Boots Reynolds,” she shares. That experience marked a pivot in Hutton’s life as she was struck by the extraordinary saga of Sgt. Reckless, a Korean War horse hero that history had all but forgotten about.
“I was blown away by this story and thought to myself, ‘Who is this horse, and why have I never heard about her?’” she recalls. “With all the stories I had read over the years about horses, I never came across hers. I googled her name and only four – FOUR! – links came up on the internet. She had completely vanished from the pages of history. … I thought this was a travesty because it was absolutely the greatest horse story I had ever read – bar none. So, I made it my mission to bring her back into the collective and make sure that she would never be forgotten again. I wanted her to have the legacy she deserved.”
Hutton thus dedicated her time to telling Sgt. Reckless’s story. She spent seven years in research, and, despite the lack of public information, she tracked down the men who served with Reckless and was able to weave their stories into her biography on Reckless. In 2014, she published Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse, a thoughtful and comprehensive telling of this no-longer-forgotten hero. “I am very proud to say when the book came out in 2014 it became a New York Times Bestseller. … But best of all, when you google her name today over 2 million links come up. Mission accomplished!”
While researching the book, Hutton followed her calling further; she founded the nonprofit Angels Without Wings in 2009 “to raise awareness and provide financial support to groups doing wonderful work helping others who were less fortunate, or helping animals in need,” she says. “It was conceived on the notion to ‘Be kind / Be the change,’ and ‘We all can be Angels – if we try!,’ which means that it only takes one person to make a difference – to create a ripple of hope – and how, with just a little bit of one’s time, ingenuity and effort, we all can make all the difference in the world to those less fortunate.”
With Sgt. Reckless on the forefront of her mind, Hutton infused that story into the mission of the nonprofit, tirelessly fundraising to help erect monuments to animal war heroes all over the country. Since then, her work has only multiplied in scope and in scale. “We have expanded our mission,” she relates, “to not only helping animals in need but also honoring those four-legged and winged heroes that have served our country on the war and home fronts with the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery and Distinguished Service Medals, which are presented by members of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., at an annual ceremony.”
In 2016, Hutton nominated Reckless for Great Britain’s prestigious People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals Dickin Medal. Upon Reckless winning that award, Hutton dove deep into the medal’s history and learned of those it was awarded to during World War II, which prompted her to write her second book, War Animals: The Unsung Heroes of World War II, published in 2019. “When I reached out to my publisher to help with promotion for this great achievement, he too fell in love with these heroic stories and asked if I would like to write a book about them,” she remembers. “I jumped at the offer and realized I needed to give the book an American angle. That set me up to learn about the amazing American animal heroes that served our country in World War II.”
With two books behind her, Hutton now continues to focus on advocacy and awareness of these heroes. Through her nonprofit and its awards ceremony, seven Distinguished Service Medals and 19 Medals of Bravery have been awarded since 2019. To further the cause, Hutton and her team at Angels Without Wings have developed the International War Animals Museum, a collection of traveling exhibitions that will one day be housed in a brick-and-mortar location.
“I hope that every visitor that comes to one of the traveling exhibits learns about a moment in history through the eyes of the animals and about the different roles animals have played in war and peacetime throughout history,” Hutton says of the museum. “People really don’t realize the role animals have played throughout history during war, or what animals are capable of doing when given the chance. Their stories need to be told.”
Without question, Hutton is opening the world’s eyes to the astonishing stories of these animals of war. And despite the triumphs and trials she’s researched extensively and the awareness she’s brought to them, she says it’s the animals who have been teaching her. “These animals have taught me many life lessons over the years, and my dogs keep teaching me lessons every day,” she says. “Here are just a few: Follow your dreams, for you never know what magical journey they will take you on. Keep an open mind and heart to the universe. Love unconditionally. Have an attitude of gratitude and happiness. Greet everyone as if they’re your new best friend. Chasing a ball is great cardio exercise, but enjoying a simple walk is so much better. Have patience (take a deep breath) – have more patience. Always be loyal and faithful. I can always be myself – rain or shine – and they love me all the same. Always be humble and kind. But most importantly, live life like someone left the gate open.”
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