During the early days of World War II the United States remained officially neutral. It was only after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese that the United States had no choice but to declare war. At the beginning of the war Japan was winning most of the battles (Gailey). These defeats lowered the morale of the American troops. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to boost morale and push the Pacific front forward with an attack 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 came to the Doolittle Raid. The Doolittle Raid, as it is commonly called 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 knowing the details of the mission. Only a few officers were fully briefed, and not even the carrier captain was briefed until shortly before deployment (Shepherd). Early in the planning phase, the Army practiced flying the B-25 Michells at an airfield intended to simulate the flight deck of a naval aircraft carrier (WorldWar2.com). Takeoffs were eventually attempted on a real 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 aircraft carrier's flight deck (WorldWar2.com). When it was determined that pilots could overcome this obstacle, command of the project was given to Lieutenant Cornel James Doolittle (Shepherd). Doolittle was the most accomplished aviator of his generation, from his doctorate in aeronautics to his daring flying stunts... ... middle of paper ...... the little Raid was significant. Works CitedAnswers.com. Morale of the troops. 2010. .Eyewitness to History. Battle of Midway. 2001. Ferris, Richard. Telephone interview with the writer. April 2, 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. Federico Mish. 11. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2009.Merrill, Dennis. Email interview with the writer. March 17, 2010, 3.20pm. Merrill: [email protected]. James: [email protected], Joel. 1942-The Doolittle Raid. 2003. .WorldWar2.com. The Doolittle Raid. 2010. .