On this day (June 25) in 1950, the Communist North Korean army crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea.

Upon learning of this unexpected invasion, President Harry S. Truman, who at the time was in his hometown of Independence, Mo., hurried back to Washington, where he scheduled a dinner meeting at the Blair House (his temporary residence while the White House was undergoing extensive renovation) of his top military and diplomatic advisors.

On that Sunday, the United Nations Security Council had been able, because of absence of the Soviet representative, to order an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of all North Korean forces.