59th Anniversary of the End of the Korean War
July 27, 2009 -
Out of 5.7 million American service members who served during that war, 36,000 died in the Korean theater of operations. At the Yalta Conference near the end of World War II, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea into two occupation zones split along the 38th parallel. Soviet forces occupied the northern half; U.S. troops, the southern half – though, by 1949, both forces had withdrawn.
On June 25, 1950, communist troops from North Korea invaded the democratic Republic of Korea. Two days later, President Harry S Truman announced that America would intervene. United Nations forces, led by America, made rapid advances before encountering Chinese communist troops who fought alongside North Korea. Fighting was fierce. By May 1951, communist troops were pushed back to the 38th parallel where the battle line remained.
On July 27, 1953, after 2 years of negotiations, a cease-fire was signed ending the war and re-establishing the dividing line that exists today.
