TRUMAN ORDERS UNITED STATES GROUND TROOPS TO KOREA

Truman orders United States ground troops to Korea

Five days after North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea, President Harry Truman took a decisive step. On June 30th, 1950, he authorized the deployment of United States ground combat units to support South Korean forces already reeling under the assault. Air and naval power had been committed earlier, but this order meant American soldiers would again fight on the ground in Asia. Units from the occupation forces in Japan, including elements of the 24th Infantry Division, began moving rapidly toward the Korean Peninsula with limited equipment and training for full-scale war. The decision framed the conflict as an early test of postwar collective security and containment policies. For the troops boarding transports, it meant leaving garrison duty for a campaign whose length and cost were unknown, in terrain and conditions that would prove harsh and unforgiving.