In August 1976, two American officers were killed in the Korean DMZ — beaten to death with axes during a routine tree-trimming operation. Three days later, the U.S. military came back to finish the job. This time, they brought B-52 bombers, fighter jets, helicopter gunships, an aircraft carrier group, and a special forces unit trained in hand-to-hand combat. The mission: cut down one poplar tree. The result: one of the most perfectly calibrated shows of force in Cold War history. This is Operation Paul Bunyan — and the chainsaw was the least dangerous weapon on site.

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