Korean Conflict

The years following World War II saw the creation of the U.S. Air Force from what had been the U.S. Army Air Forces. National Guard flying units became part of the new service, creating the Air National Guard. The new reserve component did not have long to wait before its first combat test.

The Korean War began in June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. Within two months, the first of 138,600 Army National Guardsmen were mobilized and National Guard units began arriving in South Korea in January of 1951. By the summer of 1951 a large number of non-divisional engineer and artillery units in Korea were from the National Guard. In November, two National Guard infantry divisions, the 40th from California and the 45th from Oklahoma arrived to fight the North Koreans and Chinese.