1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 May Voice | Page 11

Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
9
Gallant Bess—War and Film Heroine—Bred To A Walker
By VIRGINIA LAMB
Recently I had the pleasure of
meeting a very fine man, Chief Boats­
wain Arthur L. Parker, USN, retired,
of Route 2, Box 2293, Auburn, Calif.
Mr. Parker is the owner of Gallant
Bess, a retired movie mare that was
recently bred to the Rebel J, a Walk­
ing Horse. Art, as Mr. Parker is more
commonly known, gave me the his­
tory of Bess, which I will try to relate
to you. I am sorry that I cannot pos­
sibly give the complete story, but only
the highlights of a fairy tale come
true.
Foaled As Japanese Attacked
Bess was born on a South Pacific
Island, Tulagi, in 1942 during a Nip
attack. Her mother, a purebred Arab­
ian, was hit by fragments of an ex­
ploding bomb when the colt was
about six to eight months old, and
had to be destroyed. The filly, also
severely injured, was about to be shot
by her owner when Art came across
them in the jungle.
He convinced her owner that he
could nurse Bess back to health,
which he did, and eventually was able
to buy the filly. The purchase price
was $10. During the war, she miracu­
lously survived through some 200
bombings. She became affectionately
known by Art’s buddies as “Foxhole
Flicka”. This was due to the fact
that she would dash into a cave as
soon as the first sound of a bomb at­
tack was apparent.
There were many times of trials
and tears in the life of Bess during the
war, but there were also many times
when her antics boosted the morale
of many a young sailor far from home.
She seemed to be half horse, half
human. She would carry water in
barrels strapped to her back and
answer a whistle from any of the boys
wanting a drink of water. During this
time she learned to perform many
tricks such as barrel standing, count­
ing, untying knots, removing hats and
giving kisses on command.
She would shake hands, making
sure she was friends with the G.I.’s,
then raid their tents to find candy or
sugar for her reward. Site still likes
her codee in the morning with cream
and sugar. Bess is a living legend, one
that will live in the hearts of those
who were so closely associated with
her when the earth was exploding be­
neath their feet.
Several limes Bess was close to
death. Each Lime, due to the loving
care of Art and several soft-hearted
Navy men, she was nursed back to
health. At one time they found her
lying helpless on a jungle trail after
she had been missing for about four
days. They rigged a sled hooked to a
jeep and dragged her back to the en­
campment to once again nurse her
back to health.
After the war, Art was determined
to bring her back to the States with
him. With the help of a horse-loving
Navy transport skipper, Bess came
home to the U. S.. Coming home on
a transport ship with hundreds of
sailors hit just about every newspaper
in the country. This resulted in a
movie contract with MGM. The
movie was titled “Gallant Bess’’. She
has been seen at many benefits since
her arrival in the U.S., and has ap­
peared before night club audiences,
USO shows, etc.
New Movie Planned
Now she is once again coming out
of retirement, for the second time, to
appear in a new movie, which has
not as yet been titled, and also in a
television series which is scheduled.
We believe the TV series will be call­
ed "Gallant Bess”. The stories of both
will be based on her actual life with
a lot of fiction thrown in for good
measure. In each, as stated before in
one of my articles, it will be noted
that she has been bred to a Walking
Horse.
Art was born and raised around
horses in Montana until he went into
the service. He was shipped overseas
and became a Naval officer. When he
was sent to Tulagi he took along an
old McClelland saddle, somehow
knowing that he would find a horse to
love and care for. He did, Bess! After
spending 32 years in the Navy, he re­
tired, with Bess, to live on a ranch
and raise horses. I asked him why,
after all this time, t