USS Iowa (BB-61) 1948, as part of the post World War II drawdown of the armed forces, "Iowa" was deactivated at San Francisco, and then formally decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets on 24 March 1949. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, prompting the United Nations to authorize military intervention. President Harry S. Truman ordered US forces stationed in Japan to transfer to South Korea. Truman also sent US based troops, tanks, fighter and bomber aircraft, and a strong naval force to the area to support South Korea. As part of the naval mobilization, "Iowa" was reactivated on 14 July
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Korea) months of the Korean War. In July and August 1950 alone, 407 civilians were summarily executed without trials. On January 24, 2008, the former President of Korea Roh Moo-hyun apologized for the mass killings. The commission concluded on March 11, 2008, that indiscriminate bombing by the US on Wolmido Island, Incheon, Korea, on Sept. 10, 1950, caused severe casualties of civilians residing in the area. At the time, the United Nations attempted a sudden landing maneuver in Incheon to reverse the course of the war, and Wolmido Island was a strategically significant location that needed to be secured. Declassified US