Canada in the Korean War The military history of Canada during the Korean War was very eventful . Canada participated on the side of the United Nations in the Korean War . 26 , 000 Canadians participated in the Korean war , and Canada sent eight destroyers . Canadian aircraft provided transport , supply and logistics . 516 Canadians died in the conflict , 312 of the deaths were from combat . After the war , Canadian troops remained for three years as military observers . Background . Japan ' s defeat in World War II heralded the end to 35 years of Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula . The surrender of Japan to the Allied forces on 2 September 1945 led to the peninsula being subsequently divided into North and South Koreas , with the North being occupied by troops from the Soviet Union , and the South , below the 38th parallel , being occupied by troops from the United States . The Soviet forces entered the Korean Peninsula on 10 August 1945 , followed a few weeks later by the American forces who entered through Incheon . U . S . Army Lieutenant General John R . Hodge formally accepted the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th Parallel on 9 September 1945 at the Government House in Seoul . Although both rival factions tried initially to diplomatically reunite the divided nation , it was the Northern faction that eventually tried to do so with military force . The North hoped that they would be able to unify the peninsula via insurgency , but the success of the ROK in suppressing insurgency brought about the realization for the North that they would require military force . The DPRK had expanded their army and Korean volunteers fighting in Manchuria in the Chinese Civil War had given their troops battle experience . The North expected to win with the war in a matter of days . Troops from Kim Il Sung s North Korean Army ( KPA ) crossed the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950 beginning a civil war . The invasion of South Korea came as a surprise to the United Nations . The same day the war had officially begun ( 25 June ) , the United Nations immediately drafted UNSC Resolution 82 , which called for : When the North Korean Army crossed into South Korea on 25 June 1950 , they advanced for the capital Seoul , which fell in less than a week . North Korea ' s forces continued toward the port of Pusan , a strategic goal and the seat of the ROK government . The forces of the North conquered all of Korea except for this tiny enclave at the end of the peninsula . The war was nearly won by the DPRK . In two days , the United States offered assistance and the United Nations Security Council asked its members to help repel the North Korean attack . Canada , the United States , New Zealand , South Africa , the Philippines , Australia , Ethiopia and other countries sent troops to Korea , under a United Nations security council resolution . Canadian Army involvement . On August 15 , 1950 , the 2nd Battalion was created within Princess Patricia ' s Canadian Light Infantry ( PPCLI ) to be a component of the Canadian Army Special Force in response to the Chinese invasion of South Korea . The new battalion trained in Calgary and at CFB Wainwright , before boarding the USS " Private Joe P . Martinez " on November 25 , 1950 , to Pusan in South Korea . The battalion landed in Korea in December and trained in the mountains for eight weeks before finally taking part in the war on February 6 , becoming a component of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade of the IX Corps in the 8th US Army . The 2nd Battalion of the PPCLI was the first Canadian infantry unit to take part in the Korean War . By spring 1951 , 8 500 Canadians troops were supporting the United Nations , alongside 12 500 Brits , 5 000 Filipino troops and 5 000 Turkish troops . Battle of Kapyong . In April 1951 , Chinese forces of the 118th Division attacked the Kapyong Valley in force , and pushed South Korean and New Zealand troops into retreat . Under heavy pressure , the Korean 6th Division broke , and the line collapsed . American and South Korean men poured through a gap under protective covering fire from Australians who were holding their section of the line despite heavy pressure . Australian troops from 3 RAR , and Canadian troops from the PPCLI were ordered to halt this Chinese advance . The mission of the men of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade was to block the two approaches to Kapyong . In only a few hours , they managed to prepare defensive positions . The Chinese 118th Division engaged their two forward battalions on 23 April . In the early part of the battle the 1st Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment and the 16th Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery were all but cut off . The resistance of forward positions , held by the 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR , permitted the 1st Battalion , Middlesex Regiment to withdraw . It moved into place to provide a reserve . The initial Chinese attack at Kapyong engaged 3 RAR on Hill 504 . The Chinese then struck at the Canadian front . Wave after wave of massed Chinese troops kept up the attack throughout the night of 23 April . After a night of fierce fighting Major Bernard O ' Dowd , Officer Commanding , A Company , 3 RAR , managed to get through on a radio phone to a general of the 1st U . S . Marine Division . The general was incredulous , thinking it was an enemy agent speaking . He told O ' Dowd that the unit no longer existed , that it had been wiped out the night before . The Chinese had managed to infiltrate the brigade position by the morning of 23 April . The Australians and Canadians were facing the whole of the Chinese 118th Division . Throughout 24 April the battle was unrelenting . It devolved , on both fronts , into hand - to - hand combat with bayonet charges . The Australians , facing encirclement , were ordered to make an orderly fall back to new defensive positions late in the day of 24 April . 2 PPCLI was completely surrounded . Captain Mills , in command of D Company , was forced to call down artillery fire on his own positions on Hill 677 several times during the early morning hours of 25 April to avoid being overrun . It had to be resupplied by air drops during this desperate time . By dawn the Chinese attack on the Canadian position had abated , and in the afternoon of 25 April the road through to the Canadians had been cleared of Chinese , at which time the 2nd Battalion was relieved . The 16th Field Regiment , Royal New Zealand Artillery , also managed to withdraw and link up with the U . S . Army ' s 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion . These units provided close heavy gun support . Canada lost 10 soldiers ( out of allied losses of 47 ) and 23 wounded at this battle . Digging in . On May 25 , 1951 , the 2nd Battalion PPCLI , was transferred to the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade within the 1st Commonwealth Division . For the rest of the war , the various infantry battalion s of the PPCLI , the Royal 22nd Regiment , and The Royal Canadian Regiment , squadrons of the Lord Strathcona ' s Horse ( Royal Canadians ) , regiment s of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery , and various units of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps would rotate in and out of the war . Royal Canadian Navy in Korea . RCN destroyers formed part of Canada ' s initial response to the United Nations ' call for assistance during the Korean War , and were sent to Korean waters to join other UN naval forces . The eight Canadian ships ' duties included " exciting but dangerous " shore bombardments and the destruction of North Korean trains and railway lines . Initially dispatched in 1950 , Canadian destroyers maintained a presence off the Korean peninsula until 1955 . The ships were first under fire during the bombardment of Inchon in the middle of January 1951 . The coastal defence fire was inaccurate , and the ships doubled back and silenced the guns . Another bombardment at Inchon two days later was also successful , without damage . The only Canadian naval casualties of the Korean War occurred on 2 October 1952 during an patrol on the east coast from a coastal defence battery : 3 sailors died and 10 were wounded . Canadian ships destroyed 8 of the 28 trains destroyed by the Allies , and the " Crusader " alone hit 3 trains . The first dispatch was : , and , which were followed by , , , and . 3621 Canadian sailors participated . One RCN aviator flew with the USN . Royal Canadian Air Force in Korea . In 1950 , the RCAF was heavily involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War . No . 426 Transport Squadron was attached to the Military Air Transport Service . During the Canada ' s involvement during the Korean War , 600 trans - Pacific flights were flown carrying 3000 tons of cargo and 13 , 000 passengers . The RCAF suffered no losses The RCAF was not involved with a combat role since no jet fighter squadrons capable of the type of combat required in Korea were yet in service , and capable fighter squadrons that later did become operational were allocated to NATO duty in Europe . Twenty - two RCAF fighter pilots , however , flew the North American F - 86 Sabre on exchange duty with the USAF in Korea so that they could gain combat experience . Between them , these pilots were credited with nine Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 15 s destroyed , two probable kills , and ten damaged in the course of 1036 sortie s . They were awarded seven Distinguished Flying Crosses , one Commonwealth Distinguished Flying Cross , and four Air Medal s . One was shot down and captured due to friendly fire . When the USAF experienced a shortage of F - 86s , Canada supplied sixty Canadair Sabre s . Cessation of hostilities . On 29 November 1952 , U . S . President - elect Dwight D . Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise by going to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict . With the UN ' s acceptance of India ’ s proposal for a Korean armistice , a cease - fire was established on 27 July 1953 , by which time the front line was back around the proximity of the 38th parallel , and so a demilitarised zone ( DMZ ) was established around it , presently defended by North Korean troops on one side and by South Korean , American and UN troops on the other . The DMZ runs north of the parallel towards the east , and to the south as it travels west . The site of the peace talks , Kaesong , the old capital of Korea , was part of the South before hostilities broke out but is currently a special city of the North . North Korea and the United States signed the , with Syngman Rhee refusing to sign . After the war ended , Canadians remained in Korea for three years as military observers . Between 1950 and 1956 , over 25 , 000 Canadians served in Korea , and 516 died of various causes . Of those , 312 lost their lives in combat .