Thanks to Thomas Roode for this entry.

Naval forces
De first Dutch vessel to arrive in the waters surrounding Korea was the Hr.Ms. Evertsen, a destroyer with 238 sailors on board. It went on its first patrol on the 20th of July 1950. In April 1951 it was replaced by the destroyer Hr.Ms. Van Galen with 246 sailors. After 11 months, it was replaced by the destroyer Hr.Ms. Piet Hein (229 sailors and 14 marines). The Piet Hein was the first Dutch vessel to actually see action. It participated in so-called package sweeps - attacks on North Korean re-supply trains. On the night of 14 to 15 November 1952, it succeeded in destroying a North Korean train. The Piet Hein was replaced, not by another destroyer but by the much smaller frigate Hr.Ms. Maurits on 18 January 1953. The Maurits had only 183 sailors aboard. Although a truce had been signed, Dutch vessel remained in Korean waters until 24 January 1955. In the meantime, the Maurits was replaced by Hr.Ms. Dubois in November 1953, while the Dubois itself was replaced by the last Dutch frigate, the Hr.Ms. Van Zijll. It left for the Netherlands on 24 January 1954, ending the Dutch naval presence.

Netherlands Battalion
After an urgent call by UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie on the 15th of July 1950, the Dutch government decided to dispatch an infantry battalion to Korea. It consisted mainly of volunteers, with most of them being veterans from the Indonesian Independence War (1946 - 1949). The battalion, named Nederlands Detachement Verenigde Naties (NDVN - Dutch Detachment United Nations), consisted of about 1.000 men. The battalion arrived in Pusan on the 23rd of November 1950. After a short training period, the Dutchmen were encorporated into the 38th Rock of the Marne Infantry Regiment (part of the 2nd Indianhead Division). From the 14th of December 1950 and onwards, the battalion commander commanded an extra 100 ROKS (Republic of Korea Soldiers or Katusa's - Korean Army Troops United States Army). After seeing some heavy action at places like Hoengsong, Hill 325 (west of Wonju), Hwachon Reservoir and the Iron Triangle (the area between Chorwon, Pyongyang and Kumhwa), the battalion was withdrawn to Holland on the 15th of December 1954. In total, 120 Dutchmen lost their lives on the barren plains and hills of Korea. The battalion was rewarded with a total of 120 U.S. medals (4 x Distinguished Unit Citation, 4 x Silver Star, and 102 x Bronze Star) and 31 Dutch medals.