00:00Two American soldiers were killed with axes in broad daylight.
00:03What happened next was one of the strangest military operations in history.
00:07August 18th, 1976.
00:10The Korean DMZ.
00:11A group of U.S. and South Korean soldiers arrived to trim a poplar tree blocking a sight line in
00:16the joint security area.
00:18North Korean guards showed up.
00:19An argument started.
00:20Then the guards pulled axes from their belts and beat both American officers to death in minutes.
00:26The U.S. response was overwhelming.
00:29813 troops.
00:30Attack helicopters.
00:31Artillery batteries.
00:33B-52 bombers launched from Guam.
00:35A full carrier strike group moved into the Sea of Japan.
00:38The mission?
00:39Finish cutting the tree.
00:40North Korea placed its entire military on combat alert.
00:44For a moment, two nuclear-armed nations stood at the edge of war over a parking lot and a poplar
00:49tree.
00:49Then Kim Il-sung did something he had never done before.
00:52He sent a message that came as close to an apology as he ever gave anyone.
00:56The tree came down.
00:58The soldiers went home.
00:59That was Cold War deterrence.
01:01Not in theory.
01:02In practice.
01:03Fur Bit
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