<P> Although MacArthur clearly stated that the Battle of Inchon was a 5000 to 1 gamble, it was an important military move to make . Incheon is 25 miles from Seoul on the coast and only once during September is the water even deep enough to allow the 29 foot draft of American LSTs . It was a defenders' best place to allow troops into Korea, and to push the invaders back . On September 15 the 1st Marine Division landed at the port city, taking the defending North Koreans completely by surprise, and by the end of the night over a third of Incheon was taken back . </P> <P> During the mid-1950s, Germany and Japan were both at a desperate state caused by World War II . Germany received a sort of benefit from the U.S. as a compensation of war and reconstruction . The Japanese on the other end were devastated by the aftermath . People were suffering, eating out of garbage, and many people starved . Meanwhile, the U.S. troops in the Korean War were in great demand of uniforms and other equipment . The American government turned to Japan for the favor, which eventually stimulated the manufacturing factories that were in jeopardy due to damage caused by World War II . Japan accepted the offer and mainly supplied U.S. troops in Korea with uniforms and other sorts of clothing . Bases were also erected in Japan for U.S. Air Force planes, such as B - 29 Superfortress bombers . </P>

When did the us join the korean war