In Steven Spielberg’s military drama “War Horse” (2011), a young man enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry.
It’s possible that only a horse could inspire such strong loyalty. It’s reality that Sergeant York, a black stallion who gained worldwide fame as the riderless horse at the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan in 2004, is one of those horses. He will be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the California-based organization Animals in War & Peace for his 25 years of service in the U.S. Army’s elite Caisson Platoon.
Sergeant York retired to the Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary in Chatham, a community that has excellent reason to be proud of such a heroic guest. He is a big part of American history spending the rest of his days in a village that can trace a long history of its own.
Sergeant York is just the second Caisson Platoon horse to be retired at the sanctuary. In 2021, the sanctuary welcomed Tyler, a gray quarterhorse who was a member of the gray team, which carried riders in funeral processions. The riderless horse symbolizes an officer’s final ride in battle.
He is also the first and so far only horse to receive the medal. Sergeant York could not attend the official medal-award ceremony in Washington, D.C., for reasons of poor health. He is old, at age 31 — the equivalent of a 91-year-old human — and too infirm to make the trip from Chatham. The military career and retirement of this old war horse is winding down. If this is Sergeant York’s final hurrah, he will get a send-off fit for the hero he is.