<P> Racial integration efforts in the U.S. military began during the Korean War, where African Americans fought in integrated units for the first time . President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, calling on the armed forces to provide equal treatment and opportunity for black servicemen . The extent to which Truman's 1948 orders were carried out varied among the various branches of the military, with segregated units still in deployment at the start of the war, and eventually being integrated towards the end of the war . The last large segregated operational unit was the U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment which was deactivated on October 1, 1951 . </P> <P> There has been some confusion over the previously reported number of 54,589 Korean War deaths . In 1993, this number was divided by the Defense Department into 33,686 battle deaths, 2,830 non-battle deaths, and 17,730 deaths of Defense Department personnel outside the Korean theatre . There were also 8,142 U.S. personnel listed as Missing In Action (MIA) during the war . U.S. casualties in the war are fewer than in the Vietnam War, but they occurred over three years as opposed to 15 years (1960 to 1975) in Vietnam . However, advances in medical services such as the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and the use of rapid transport of the wounded to them such as with helicopters led to a lower death rate for U.N. forces than in previous wars . </P> <P> For service during the Korean War, the U.S. military issued the Korean Service Medal . However, many still - living Korean War veterans claim that their country tends to neglect the remembrance of this war . With more overt displays made for the Vietnam War, World War I, World War II and the Gulf Wars, the Korean War has come to be dubbed by some as the "Forgotten war" or the "Unknown War ." As a partial remedy, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was built in Washington, D.C. and dedicated to veterans of the war on July 27, 1995 . </P> <P> The U.S. still maintains a heavy military presence in Korea, as part of the effort to uphold the armistice between South and North Korea . A special service decoration, known as the Korea Defense Service Medal, is authorized for U.S. service members who today serve a tour of duty in Korea . </P>

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