The Korean War started this day, June 25, 1950, when communist North Koreans invaded South Korea, killing tens of thousands within the first weeks. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was placed in command of the U.N. forces and quickly turned the war by a daring landing of troops at Inchon and recapturing the city of Seoul. Politicians limited the military from pursuing victory and the war dragged on three years with millions of casualties. In sober reflection, MacArthur stated: "History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline."