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
Anti-American sentiment in Korea all units in Korea that refugees be attacked with all available fire including bombing. In August 1950, 80 civilians are reported to have been killed while seeking sanctuary in a shrine by the village of Kokaan-Ri, near Masan in South Korea. Other survivors recall 400 civilians killed by U.S. naval artillery on the beaches near the port of Pohang in September 1950. North Korea claims that US forces massacred 35,000 people at Sinchon between 17 October and 7 December 1950. Scant evidence exists that supports these claims. The armistice at the end of the Korean War required that a political