The Korean War and the war in Vietnam were very similar. Both of these conflicts were about the spread of communism in southeastern Asia. The North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel in June 1950. South Korea looked to the U.N for help. The Soviet Union was boycotting the UN so they could not stop them from sending an international force into South Korea. Troops from 16 nations went to South Korea led by General Douglas McArthur. The war in Korea bounced back and forth for awhile until the North Koreas push the U.S. to the very tip of South Korea and the US has the fear of being pushed into the water. Then General McArthur landed a small force of marines at Inchon behind North Korean lines. The UN then pushed the North Korean army all the way to the Korean border with China. China wanted Korea as a buffer state so they poured in 300,000 troops and by sheer numbers alone pushed the UN force back below the 38th parallel. McArthur then suggested the use of the atomic bomb and because of this President Truman stripped him of his power. Later in the war each side did not want total victory and the UN just wanted to push the North back across the 38th parallel which they accomplished. In July 1953 almost 3 years later, North Korea and South Korea signed a cease fire agreement ending the conflict. In Vietnam the North Vietnamese went across the border and invaded the south. At the peace conference in Geneva the U.S. tried to limit the communist influence in Vietnam. They were some what successful and Ho Chi Minh was only given the North. The U.S. and France set up a democracy in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem in the south. Diem in the long run was not a good leader and because of this the communist North gained support. Eventually in 1963 Diem was assassinated. The conflict eventually turned into a war when the north attacked two US destroyers. By late 1965 185,000 soldiers were located in Vietnam. Even though the US was winning on paper with the most advanced weapons the use of guerilla tactics by the Vietnamese and the Vietcong had great popular support while the South Vietnamese government was growing less popular. Protests at home were not helping much either. In 1969 the U.S. began to withdraw its troops and just sent them weapons but that was not enough and in the spring of 1975 Saigon fell and the North had control of all Vietnam.   This is applicable to what we are learning because we are learning about Korea and Vietnam.