During the early days of World War II the United States remained officially neutral. It was not until the attack on Pearl Harbor, by the Japanese, that the United States had no choice, but to declare war. In the beginning of the war Japan was winning most of the battles (Gailey). These defeats resulted in the morale being low among the American troops. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to boost morale and push forward the Pacific front with a strike on the Japanese homeland to serve as a testament to American military prowess and retribution for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (Shepherd). This eventually trickled down to the Doolittle Raid.
The Doolittle Raid, as it is commonly referred to as today, was officially classified as the First Special Aviation Project (Shepherd). This project was planned with extreme secrecy. The crew was made up of pilots who volunteered without knowledge of mission details. Only a few officers were fully briefed and not even the captain of the aircraft carrier was briefed until shortly before deployment (Shepherd). In the initial phase of the planning the Army practiced flying B-25 Michells on an airfield meant to simulate the flight deck of a naval aircraft carrier (WorldWar2.com). Eventually the takeoffs were attempted on an actual aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet (WorldWar2.com). The problem they had to solve was to reduce the weight of the bombers so they could take-off from the flight deck of the carrier (WorldWar2.com). When it was determined that pilots could overcome this obstacle the command of the project was given to Lieutenant Cornel James Doolittle (Shepherd).
Doolittle was the most accomplished aviator of his generation, from his PhD in aeronautics to his daring stunt flying ca...
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Works Cited
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Ferris, Richard. Telephone Interview by the Writer. April 2nd, 2010. 3:20PM. Ferris: 517-767-9507. James: 816-805-3544.
Gailey, Harry. The War in the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. Novato: Presidio, 1995.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Ed. Frederick Mish. 11th. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2009.
Merrill, Dennis. Email Interview by the Writer. March 17th, 2010. 3:20PM. Merrill: merrilld@umkc.edu. James: sdj994@umkc.edu.
Shepherd, Joel. 1942-The Doolittle Raid. 2003. .
WorldWar2.com. The Doolittle Raid. 2010. .
In conclusion, the attack of Japan on the United States, Pearl Harbor, led to great property destruction and even loss of lives. Japan had earlier on deceived the United States of the peace negations. Japanese Ambassadors later termed the negotiation as useless, making them attack the United States. The unexpected attack led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ask the Congress to declare war on Japan.
World War II was an exceptional war for the United States. The United States emerged from the war as a world superpower and protector of all other nations. There were many reasons why the United States entered World War II, however President Franklin Roosevelt was in some way directly connected to every reason. Roosevelt wanted to enter World War II as soon as it started for political and economic needs. However, the American people did not want to enter in another war, such as World War I, that costs so many lives and money. Therefore, Roosevelt schemed a plan to enter the United States into World War II that would change the minds of the American people, including the direct aiding of Great Britain, the German bombing of a United States warship, and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“It was very apparent to everyone who had carefully followed the course of events that we would sooner or later have to meet the threat to civilization which these aggressor nations were presenting to the world…and that we would ultimately be left to face the onslaught alone…” are words from then Secretary of War Henry Stimson. America knew she was headed for war, her people though, not directly feeling the effects of the conflicts going on half a world away would not support the loss of American lives for a foreign war. The government knew about the planned attacks on Pearl Harbor, kept the information from the military leaders that needed it the most, and used the tragedy to rally the nation toward war.
The neutral United States could no longer resist neutrality in the deadly war that had broke out two years before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Up until then, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt had done everything he could to prevent the participation of his country in what is now known as World War II. When the United States declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on the United States, which transformed the war into a global conflict. At a conference code-named “Arcadia” with Churchill, Roosevelt had agreed to make the war with German the major priority and the Pacific theater second. By the time Roosevelt and General George C. Marshall, the army chief of staff, had decided to create a unified command structure
After World War II began in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the neutrality of the United States. Many people in the United States thought that their country should stay out of the war. The people wanted the Allied Forces to have the victory. President Roosevelt also wanted an Allied victory because an Axis victory might endanger democracies everywhere. The United States equipped nations fighting the Axis with ships, tanks, aircraft, and other war materials. The Axis did not like this. Japan wanted to take over China, but China refused. China was led by Chiang Kai-Shek at the time. Japan wanted the United States to stop sending China supplies, but the United States refused. The United States opposed the expansion of Japan in Asia, so they cut off important exports to Japan.
While most of the world had enlisted armies and were fighting with one another, the United States of America was still claiming neutrality and isolationism during most of 1941. Because of this, Davis was required to go through basic training, but had yet to see any form of combat. However, on December 7, 1941, all of that was set to change. From American views, at 7:46AM on December 7, America was still considered neutral and not formally involved in the war. At 7:48AM, Bombing began at the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Imperial Japanese Navy had snuck in and bombed the majority of the United States fleet docked at the Hawaiian base. This officially ended the United States’ neutrality, and on December 8, 1941, The United States officially declared war on Japan.
Admiral Fletcher commanded the U.S.S. Yorktown before it was sunk by the Japanese. Then at 0750, Japan spots nine enemy (American) planes fifteen miles out. Tones, a Japanese cruiser, opened fire on the American pilot. Almost instantly, if an American bomber plane were hit, it would explode and go down. The bombers dropped their torpedoes far from their targets, so the torpedoes didn’t land a single blow to Japan.
During WWI he chose to become a flying cadet in the Army signal corps and commissioned as a second lieutenant (Patterson). He was also a member of Billy Mitchell’s bombing crew that proved importance of air strikes. In September of 1922 he completed the first of many pioneering flights (Patterson). These flights earned him credibility and gave him the experience he would later need for future bombings in Tokyo and Berlin. Doolittle created a name for himself internationally and collected many trophies for his accomplishments, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Harmon trophy (for the first flight using only instruments). After the bombing at Pearl Harbor, General Arnold allowed Doolittle to lead the Tokyo raid; Doolittle hand-picked his crew and prepared them with “detailed planning, training, and rehearsals” (Donley). In 1942, Doolittle was promoted to Brigadier General when he led the first carrier based bombing on Japan. These accomplishments led Doolittle to success commanding at the operational level. Doolittle was selected to lead at the operational level because of his success in Japan and his prior experience. The Tokyo raid was successful because of Joint cooperation, a reduction of the Imperial troops, and elevated morale for the Allies (Donley). The raid Doolittle led “on the Japan homeland lured [Japan] into withholding forces for the defense of Japan and thereby overextending themselves in the Battle of Midway where the Navy would hand them a significant defeat” (Donley). Because he worked with the Navy, Doolittle successfully planned an attack that would defeat the Japanese. He also had experience commanding air units in Europe under Eisenhower. He proved early on in his career that he understood risk management which is crucial to an operational commander (Donley). His history of success and understanding of warfare were factors in his promotion to an operational
On 18 April 1942, while America was mired in combat and taking heavy losses throughout the Pacific, Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle lead eighty men from the 17th Bomb Group on a daring bombing raid into the heart of the Japanese capital city of Tokyo. These men, intent on avenging the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor only months earlier, launched their airplanes off of a Navy Aircraft Carrier on its maiden voyage, the USS Hornet. Their mission was to destroy military targets on the Japanese mainland.
Pearl Harbor was the point at which America decided to go into war. There has been many arguments on whether America would have went into war regardless to help their allies in Europe. This debate came from Franklin D. Roosevelt's inclination to want to go into war. FDR saw a need for American involvement as the Allies was slowly losing more and more ground to the Axis power. The possibility of a loss was made very evident with the fall of France to Germany. Although FDR was inclined towards helping the Allies, the American people were not aligned with this view. The American people were against going into war after their involvement in the first World War. The first World War gave Americans some common views. One of the common views of the people was that America does not need Allies because security is held up through the protection of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Their belief led to foreign affairs policy of isolationism. The policy of isolation and neutral stance in foreign affair came crashing down with the Imperial Army's attack on Pearl Harbor. The day of December 7th, 1941 is when America began its journey to the position it still holds in the world today‒ a superpower. A superpower is a country with a strong military, economy, and international political power. After the second World War, America had created the largest military force it has every had. World War II required
December 7,1941 was a crucial day in time that impacted more than one 's life. Finding itself involved in a war that was spreading across nearly every continent, the United States took shelter as the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor began. America worked hard in the following months to build up support and necessary needs. They built tanks, planes, ships and weapons to fight the war with great power. The American government then went on to build support through the people, mostly by creating posters advertising ways to financially support the war and the troops. World War II propaganda made a huge impact with war efforts on both the American and Japanese sides. Its purpose was to make the enemy be seen as an evil entity and make people want
That he was wanting to attack Japan, but he did not have a good reason to attack. It has been said that this attack had been brewing for years, according to Bruce Robinson writer of BBC.co.uk. The Japanese grew stronger while the United States faced the Great Depression. Some say that the attack on Pearl Harbor was operated by a group of “crypto-communist” or a group of people who favor or support communism (bbc.co.uk). Roosevelt wanted Japan to be seen as the provoker of the war (bbc.co.uk). The day after the attack, Congress approved Roosevelt’s declaration of war (bbc.co.uk).
Roosevelt gave a speech on live television, in which he formally declared war on Japan. In the following week, the United States also declared war against Nazi Germany, fully forcing the United States into World War II. In his speech, President Roosevelt exclaimed that Pearl Harbor would not go unavenged, and the United States would eventually triumph over the Japanese. After this speech, the United States turned into an all-out war machine, churning out goods such as guns, bombs, and ammunition and recycling all materials they could get their hands on to support the war effort. Propaganda was released, branding all Japanese-American citizens as traitors. The US used what they had left to take over Midway Island from the Japanese. This victory raised morales, which lead to the US victory over the Axis in
Webster’s Desk Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Portland House. 1990. Dictionary. Page 602
Therefore, when Pearl Harbor was bombed war was justified due to the aggressors. The United States then declared war on Japan and Germany declared war on the United States. Roosevelt’s job was done; “by initiating hostilities, the Axis powers had solved Roosevelt’s lingering dilemma about how to move the American peo