Korean War

From the beginning of the war, President Harry S. Truman called for containment of the 38th parallel rather than all out war. Truman felt, by containing it, he would succeed and preventing a wedge from being driven between the United States and the rest of the Far East. General MacArthur, vehemently disagreed, opting instead for total destruction and a complete booting out of all the communists. The disagreement finally ended in MacArthur losing his post.

Contact one the following vet groups: 1. AMVETS (American Veterans-founded in 1944 by WW2 vets) 2. VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars-founded in 1899 by Spanish-American War vets) 3. AMERICAN LEGION (Founded in 1919 by WW1 vets) 4. VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America-founded in 1978 by Viet War vets)

The United States could have been motivated by a few reasons... 1) The strategic location of Korea- Korea is located between Russia, China and Japan giving its position great strategic importance. 2) Communist Agression- This was a war caused by communist agression, and the US was no doubt afraid of a domino effect going off all throughout Asia.

North Korea is widely considered a dictatorship by Kim Jong il who is under the title Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea who in a monarch like fashion succeeded his father Kim Il Sung who died in 1994 who still holds the title of 'Eternal President'.

Both battles were fought in a similar pattern: The two forces took turns winning and losing,key hilltops.

There are illiterate mentally feeble people who believe in fantasy conspiracy theories and spread misinformation for entertainment purposes and profit on the unsuspecting public who try to blame their failure in life on sinister others.

The North Koreans were communist and because of this the USSR supported them. The South Koreans were democratic and required help from foreign countries to defend itself from the Northern communists. The Americans were quick to help the South Koreans because they were very anti-communist at this point and wanted to stop the spread of communist through Eastern Europe and Asai.

Colombia contributed one infantry battalion (Batallón de Infantería de Colombia) which was rotated and 6 naval vessels to Korea.

They suffered:

163 KIA

448 WIA

28 MIA

In total 6200 Colombians served in Korea.

It depends who is being asked.

One could say that these two wars are one and the same because an armistice, ending the fighting, was signed in 1953, but the conflict that sparked the Korean War was still very alive and continued on. The United States wanted to contain communism and the Soviets wanted to spread it through Europe. The Cold War is often referred to beginning immediately after WWII, and ending in 1991, but that wasn't decided until later. Leaders could not have forseen the longevity of this Conflict. Today, the Korean War can be considered the "Young Cold War" because Kim Il Sung and North Korea was Stalin's first attempt to put his ideas into action. The Cold War Conflict truly was a war, it was just a type the world was unfamiliar with because both sides could have made use of nuclear weapons. Leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States were afraid of the destruction that would be brought to the world, in addition to the risk of starting WWIII.

Some historians believe that the Cold War began with the Bolshevik revolution.

Another view . . .

No, the Korean War was not the Cold War. The Cold War was the term used to describe the situation between the United States and the Soviet Union which was marked by hostile intentions but no actual hostilities. The Korean War was an undeclared war with actual hostilities and military action. The Korean War was partly a result of the Cold War in that South Korea and the United States (and the United Nations allies) fought militarily against North Korea and the Soviet Union and Communist Red China. Absent the backdrop of the Cold War, the Korean War might not have occurred at least with the participation of the super powers engaged in the Cold War.

Can? Best answer is, perhaps. Did they? By no means. Keep in mind that the US and several other UN countries did fight a war with North Korea, from June 1950 to July 1953, and that only to a stalemate. The Korean War technically never ended. Fighting on the peninsula ended in an Armistice that was signed in the city of P'anmunjôm 27 July 1953. But, the war itself goes on.

Another view

It must be remembered that although the UN forces were stalemated there, the fact is that China came in on the side of North Korea, with over one million soldiers, and with military aid from the Soviet Union.

If the United States were to fight North Korea in a one on one war, it seems doubtful North Korea would have any chance at all against the world's strongest military.

The Tumen and Yalu Rivers are the two main natural borders with China

General Westmoreland was commander of US forces in South Vietnam during LBJs administration.

the Soviet Union

multi-state nation

No, they were "police actions".

If someone were to class "communism" as a form of "imperialism" then yes that was one of the causes of the Vietnam War. The French Indochina War (1st Indochina War) was "basically" a war of imperialism; and had NOT the Viet Minh been backed by the communists, the US would have probably stayed clear of that conflict. But since the now (then) North Vietnamese were COMMUNISTS, and clearly supported by the Communist Superpowers, and we, the US, were a "pledged enemy" of communism; WE had to stop the attempted conquest of SOUTH Vietnam. It was only the geography of the land, and the fear of starting World War III (the involvement of the Communist Superpowers-as had happened in the Korean War when Red China entered into it) that prevented us from saving the South.

The Korean War was the FIRST "Hot" battle of the Cold War. And the FIRST "LIMITED WAR" fought under the restrictions of the "Atomic-Age." The Soviets tested their FIRST A-Bomb in 1949, one year prior to the Korean War. Had it NOT been for nuclear weapons, the Korean War could have easily developed into World War III (Total War). However, the advent of Atomic Weapons, made TOTAL WAR not desirable. Therefore, "Limited Wars" could only be fought. A war Limited to conventional weapons, and limited to certain regions. Vietnam would be the SECOND "Hot" battle of the Cold War (and last "Limited War"). US Military Operations would carry on the torch from there.

Those in combat areas and the war zone in general were paid in script, a substitute for cash that could be readily exchanged on military posts for goods and services. It wasn't supposed to be used to purchase goods on the open market, though it often was. It was an attempt to limit blackmarket activities and other less healthy types of recreation by the troops.

to rid North Korean and Chinese force from South Korea

No. North Korea and South Korea were united until 1948. After then Korea was split in to these two parts.

Number 2 Squadron of the South African Air Force whose pilots flew the P-51D Mustang.

Stopping communist aggression & preserving the ROK.

The 38th Parallel is an IMAGINARY line that does NOT exist; you cannot see it. It is a man made tool used to navigate, originally over the oceans. Only on maps can the line be seen (since maps are man made). The 38th Parallel runs from left to right (or right to left-east to west-west to east) and is between the 45th and 30th degree marks. Pretty much cutting Korea right down the middle (side ways of course-dividing Korea in half).

One estimate is about 2 million South Korean civilians, and 660,000 South Korean soldiers.