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
North Korea–South Korea relations to defend the South, and advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China, Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war again. Fighting ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea. Syngman Rhee refused to sign the armistice, but reluctantly agreed to abide by it. The armistice inaugurated an official ceasefire but did not lead to a peace treaty. It established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer zone between the two sides, that intersected the 38th parallel but did