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After the attack on Pearl Harbor the US was in shock and unsure of how to respond. They attacked two islands in the Pacific Ocean previous to the Doolittle Raid, the Wake and Marcus islands under the command of Admiral Halsey. Neither had the morale boost that they needed or gained in the Doolittle Raid. The Japanese Empire had swallowed up huge amounts of territory in the Pacific, and the US was constantly being pushed back. A man named Francis Lowe in Admiral Kings personnel cabinet paid a visit to Norfolk, Virginia during the second week in January, which inspired him to come up with the idea for the mission and the idea to use naval planes instead of army planes in order to attack Japan. He gave the idea or plan to Admiral King, who refined it and gave it to General Arnold. The two men decided that Lieutenant Colonel James (Jimmy) Doolittle would be a good choice for mission coordinator, and they gave him control of the mission to put it together. The test flights for this mission consisted of Lieutenants John Fitzgerald, and James McCar