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Caption: "Private First Class Sterling G. Patterson, of Eagle Rock, California, has a real security job. He is shown standing guard on beer rations for Marines in Korea." On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when soldiers from the North Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea's behalf. After some early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel, the fighting stalled and casualties mounted with nothing to show for them. Meanwhile, American officials worked to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans. The alternative, they feared, would be a wider war with Russia and China. The Korean War saw the Corps expand from 75, 000 regulars to a force of 261, 000 Marines, mostly reservists. 30, 544 Marines were killed or wounded during the war and 42 were awarded the Medal of Honor. In July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided today.
