The Korean War was fought basically as an Infantry war, primarily because it was fought at all only as a result of errors in judgement, intelligence and leadership on all sides. As that became clear, everyone's main objective was not to win an unneccessary war but just to end the tragic slaughter and suffering it entailed while avoiding a nuclear World War III.
Army Wounded In Action, Pusan Perimeter, 8/50 Truman's Department of Defense assumed, before Korea, that if mobilization were required it would be all-out global commitment. Korea fell far short of another world war, but involved most of the nation's active ground forces by the end of the first month of fighting. Some degree of mobilization, although reached under pressure and in haste, was mandatory.
Realistically, the Army was far too small to fight the North Koreans and at the same time meet American commitments elsewhere. Our magnificent Marine Corps, which would have crushed the North Koreans had it still been only two divisions in strength, had been gutted and turned into a Navy Police Force by the Truman Administration. With no other choice, Truman raised the Army's authorized strenth from 630,000 to 740,500, and called up the Marine Corps reserves.
These belated steps saved South Korea which is still free today. These wounded troops, part of the delaying actions of the Pusan Perimeter, were only part of the price resulting from our nation's leaders misunderstanding the nature of the Soviet Bloc.
