The Korean War was the first of two major conflicts that arose from the cold war between the East and the West. It would test the newly formed United Nations, and their ability to act as a world power; and would be the opening rounds of the communism vs. democracy battle.
             Korea is a small peninsula, located at the crossroads of Japan, China, and Russia. It has long been coveted by these three nations, as a strategic point on the Asian continent, which gives its controller access to the boarders of the other two countries. After WWII, Korea was split between the Soviet Union and American, the USSR controlling the north, and the US controlling the south. The plan at the end of the war was to eventually have both sides relinquish control to a single Korean government, but the Cold War began, and the nation remained split between communism and democracy.
             The United Nations had been formed immediately after WWII in the hopes of providing a method for countries to work out their differences peacefully, and try to avoid another world war. The UN agreed to help sponsor free national elections in Korea. But the Soviet Union would have nothing to do with the UN, so they held their own communist elections while the UN held elections in the south. In December 1948, the Soviets withdrew from Korea, but they left behind a highly trained North Korean Army outfitted with the latest in Soviet military equipment. To counter this threat, in 1949, when the US withdrew from South Korea, they also trained an eight-division strong South Korean Army. For the following two years, the 38th parallel would be the scene of multiple skirmishes between the two armies, until tensions bubbled over into all out war.
             Saturday afternoon, June 25, 1950 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea, and rapidly swept through the country, capturing the capital city of Seoul. Later that day, at the UN Security Counsel meeting, the United...