In August 1976 U.S. troops entered the Korean Demilitarized Zone to trim a tree that obstructed their view, and two were killed by North Korean troops. While the U.S. did not launch a full-scale counterattack, they did risk igniting a war for a symbolic victory: sending hundreds of troops, backed by military aircraft, back into the DMZ to finish the tree trimming. This mobilization was called Operation Paul Bunyan.