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N0KFQ > TODAY 27.07.15 16:22l 59 Lines 2907 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 62702_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 27
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 150727/1416Z 62702@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
1953
Armistice ends the Korean War
After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United
States, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, and South
Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end.
The armistice ended America's first experiment with the Cold War
concept of "limited war."
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when communist North Korea
invaded South Korea. Almost immediately, the United States
secured a resolution from the United Nations calling for the
military defense of South Korea against the North Korean
aggression. In a matter of days, U.S. land, air, and sea forces
had joined the battle. The U.S. intervention turned the tide of
the war, and soon the U.S. and South Korean forces were pushing
into North Korea and toward that nation's border with China. In
November and December 1951, hundreds of thousands of troops from
the People's Republic of China began heavy assaults against the
American and South Korea forces. The war eventually bogged down
into a battle of attrition. In the U.S. presidential election of
1952, Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower strongly
criticized President Harry S. Truman's handling of the war. After
his victory, Eisenhower adhered to his promise to "go to Korea."
His trip convinced him that something new was needed to break the
diplomatic logjam at the peace talks that had begun in July 1951.
Eisenhower began to publicly hint that the United States might
make use of its nuclear arsenal to break the military stalemate
in Korea. He allowed the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan
to begin harassing air raids on mainland China. The president
also put pressure on his South Korean ally to drop some of its
demands in order to speed the peace process.
Whether or not Eisenhower's threats of nuclear attacks helped, by
July 1953 all sides involved in the conflict were ready to sign
an agreement ending the bloodshed. The armistice, signed on July
27, established a committee of representatives from neutral
countries to decide the fate of the thousands of prisoners of war
on both sides. It was eventually decided that the POWs could
choose their own fate-stay where they were or return to their
homelands. A new border between North and South Korea was drawn,
which gave South Korea some additional territory and
demilitarized the zone between the two nations. The war cost the
lives of millions of Koreans and Chinese, as well as over 50,000
Americans. It had been a frustrating war for Americans, who were
used to forcing the unconditional surrender of their enemies.
Many also could not understand why the United States had not
expanded the war into China or used its nuclear arsenal. As
government officials were well aware, however, such actions would
likely have prompted World War III.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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