Vietnam or Korean War: During Which War Did These Major US Victories Take Place?

Prior to the Korean War, North Korea and South Korea were divided along the 38th parallel. This line of division changed on June 25, 1950,​ when North Korean invaded South Korea.

Prior to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the country was a colony of the French empire. After WWII ended, a communist threat started to rise in the northern part of Vietnam, so the State of Vietnam was created in the south.

Communist rebels arose in South Vietnam looking to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. These rebels were known as the Viet Cong.

The United States entered the Korean War as part of their containment policy initiated after WWII. The policy stated that the United States would provide the resources necessary for foreign countries to combat communism.

The Cold War was a conflict of political ideology between the United States and the USSR. The Korean War marked the first military engagement as a result of the conflict.

In 1954, the French Army was annihilated during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The defeat forced France to engage in peace talks at the Geneva Conference.

An estimated 4 million people or more died during the Korean War. Most of those deaths were civilians.

North Korea was supported by both Russia and China during the war. South Korea was supported by the United Nations, led by the United States.

Vietnam agreed to the Geneva Accords on July 21, 1954. The agreement divided the country along the 17th parallel.

U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict slowly increased during the late '50s and early '60s. Initially, the U.S. only sent advisors to help South Vietnam combat the north.

By 1969, the United States had more than 500,000 troops in South Vietnam. The increased involvement by the U.S. led to anti-war protests in the United States.

One of the most heroic U.S. soldiers of the war was a horse named Sgt. Reckless. The horse famously carried supplies to the battle lines and pulled wounded soldiers from the field.

Pablo Picasso produced a painting in 1951 about the Korean War known as Massacre in Korea. The painting reflected mass killings in the town of Sinchon.

U.S. involvement reached full-scale after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. During the incident, a U.S. destroyer was attacked by North Vietnam, though the attack was initially exaggerated by the U.S. government.

Since Korea was occupied by Japan during WWII, the country was divided when the war ended. The United States occupied South Korea, while the Soviet Union occupied North Korea.

Congress granted President Lyndon Johnson the power to go to war against North Vietnam on August 7, 1964. The resolution passed because North Vietnam violated the Geneva Accords.

One of the largest attacks launched by North Vietnam was known as the Tet Offensive. It was launched during Tet, which is the Vietnamese New Year.

The Korean War saw the first jet vs. jet air fight. It took place on November 8, 1950, when an F-80C fought a MiG-15.

College campuses in the United States were leaders in the anti-war demonstrations. The demonstrations led to four deaths at Kent State University when the National Guard fired on the demonstrators.

The Korean War was the first time in which the United Nations engaged in a conflict. A total of 16 countries sent troops to South Korea.

One of the most horrific incidents of the Vietnam War was the My Lai Massacre. The massacre resulted in the killing of hundreds of women, children, and the elderly by U.S. troops.

More than 7,000 American soldiers from the Korean War are unaccounted for. Fifty-five boxes of remains were released to the United Nations by North Korea in 2018.

Congress never officially declared war on North Korea. Since there was no formal declaration, President Truman was able to extend the power of the presidency.

North Vietnam supplied the Viet Cong during the war along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Viet Cong mainly used guerrilla tactics to combat the United States who had superior firepower​.

In the early '70s, the United States invaded both Laos and Cambodia in an effort to cut off the supply lines set up by North Vietnam. The invasions increased anti-war sentiments in the United States.

Kenneth Shadrick was the first U.S. soldier to die in the Korean War. Shadrick was a private from West Virginia.

The Vietnam War was the second-longest war in U.S. history. It is only exceeded by the Afghanistan War.

Truce talks between supporters of both North and South Korea began in 1951. The talks lasted for more than two years as progress was constantly met by a stalemate.

Prostitutes were widely available for troops during the Korean War. The South Korean government even provided women to serve as prostitutes for its soldiers.

One of the worse strategies launched by the United States was the "strategic hamlet" program. The program removed peasants from their ancestral land, which led to their resentment of the American presence in Vietnam.

The United States partially failed in South Vietnam because it couldn't find a stable leader to run the country. After the assassination of the first President of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, in 1963, a series of military leaders stepped into power.

The Korean War ended on July 27, 1953. The armistice that ended the war was signed by General Mark Clark of the United States Army.

A cease-fire was called at the beginning of 1973 between North Vietnam and the United States. By March, all U.S. troops were evacuated from Vietnam, leaving the country divided.

When the war ended, a demilitarization zone was created to serve as a buffer between North and South Korea. The United States decided to leave troops in South Korea in case​ the North launched another invasion.

In 1975, North Vietnam captured Saigon, the capital of the South. After years of fighting, the country was united into one communist state.