It was Saturday afternoon, June 24, eastern time, when the Korean War broke out. As the US officials did not foresee the outbreak of the war, they were enjoying the relaxing weekend.
However, tensions arose as they were informed of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The then US President Harry S. Truman and then US Secretary of State Dean G. Acheson decided to appeal to the United Nations for the resolution of the Korean issue.
Also, the US determined not to remain indifferent to the communist invasion of South Korea and to handle the issue through the United Nations.
Upon the North Korean forces' invasion of South Korea, the South Korean government contacted the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea and the US Embassy to Seoul and requested the UN and the US to immediately halt the North
Korea's invasion of the South. On June 25, eastern time, the United Nations Security Council passed the resolution on the halt of the North Korean forces' invasion of South Korea and withdrawal to the north of the 38th parallel, which was
submitted by the US. North Korea, however, ignored the resolution and did not stop the invasion.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on June 26 stating that they will provide every support necessary to repel the invasion.
This resolution served as a legal foundation for the US to send ground troops to the war. Moreover, it added legitimacy for the UN member countries and allies to provide Korea with the necessary aid.
Based on the resolution, the US Navy, Army and Air Force began participating in the war in earnest.
In addition, 16 UN allies decided to send combat units and 5 UN allies decided to provide medical support in a bid to help Korea.
Classification | Nation |
---|---|
Combat Units (16) | The US, The UK, Australia, The Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, France, The Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, Greece, South Africa, Belgium, Luxemburg, Colombia, Ethiopia |
Medical Support (5) | Sweden, India, Denmark, Norway, Italy |