The Korean War was a military struggle fought on the Korean Peninsula from June 1950 to July 1953. Begun as a war between South Korean and North Korea after the North's invasion of the South, the conflict swiftly developed into a limited international war involving the United States and 19 other nations. From a general viewpoint, the Korean War was one of the by-products of the cold war, the global political and diplomatic struggle between the Communist and Non-Communist systems following World War II. The motives behind North Korea's decision to attack South Korea, however, had as much to do with internal Korean politics north and south of the 38^th parallel as with the cold war. Contrary to the prevailing view at the time, North Korea apparently attacked South Korea without the knowledge of either the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China. The Soviet Union which expected a war at a later time, was boycotting the United Nations (UN) when the attack occurred. The Communist government of China, meanwhile, was hoping to invade the island of Taiwan without having to deal with a military response from the Unites States.

After the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea, the UN passed a U.S. sponsored resolution calling for military sanctions against North Korea. Combat forces from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and 12 other countries were placed under a unified UN command headed by the U.S. and were deployed to Korea. This was the first time in which the UN used military measures to repel an aggressor. The Chinese got involved after the UN forces crossed into North Korea. In July 1953, a truce agreement was signed and the Korean War was terminated after more than three years of conflict.

The above summary is from Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia.

What follows are the stories of several descendants who served during this conflict.

Glenn Walter Coulthart (1930-present)
Corporal, U.S. Army

Glenn was born in 1930 in Grafton, North Dakota. He was the son of Elmer Coulthart and Ida Johnson. Glenn enlisted in the army in 1951 at age 21 and served in Korea until 1953 when he was discharged.

He married Hazel Naug. Glenn and Hazel had two children: Wayne (1954) and Richard (1959). Glenn is the great-grandson of Walter Coulthart (1820-1892) of Grafton, North Dakota.