Canada's Role In The Korean War

Although Canada is mostly recognized as a peaceful multicultural country in the 21st century, it was also known for its unstoppable military force that had great triumphs in many wars throughout the 20th century. The Korean War is a fine example of the brilliance canadian soldiers displayed during the 1950s. The war started on “June 25th, 1950, [when] the military forces of North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea” in which South Korea viewed it as a sign of hostility. The cold war finally erupted into a proxy war, with UN forces led by US against North Korea and China. “The United Nations [including Canada] decided to fight the North Korean invasion.” Canada played a major role in the Korean War because all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces; the Canadian infantry, navy and air force contributed significantly during …show more content…
The Government of Canada justified that “The first Canadian military response was made by the RCN less than two weeks after the outbreak of hostilities when three destroyers… set sail for the Far East.” “There was in total 3,621 officers and men and a total of eight ships of the Royal Canadian Navy had served in Korean waters.” The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) support the UN forces in many different ways. “The Canadian destroyers did things like blockading the enemy coast, preventing amphibious landings by the enemy, protecting aircraft carriers from the threat of submarine and aerial attack, bombarding enemy-held coastal area and bringing assistance to those in need in isolated South Korean fishing villages.” The RCN also “had great success in "train busting"—the destruction of enemy supply trains.” A veteran from RCN stated that “In all, the RCN managed to 'kill ' eight communist trains.” The strategy of train busting greatly damaged North Korea’s transportation system, and provided an advantage to the UN