After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the American military was on the defensive.

They had been hit hard and it would be months before they could regroup and strike back.

However, one American officer had an idea.

He had a plan whereby the Americans could strike back

immediately to let the Japanese know that they were vulnerable. It was a risky

one-way mission unlike any in the history of warfare.

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on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Book your ticket to happiness with Sun Express Airlines. It's hard to express just how much of a gut punch the attack on Pearl Harbor was to the United States.

The country had tried hard over the previous year to stay out of the war.

Most Americans figured that even if the United States did go to war,

it wouldn't be any time soon, and if it happened, it would probably be Germany that dragged them into the conflict.

Everyone was shocked to find out on December 7th, 1941 that they were attacked by the Empire of Japan.

Not only were 2,335 soldiers killed, but 4 battleships were sunk and 188 aircraft were destroyed.

Most of them never even got off the ground.

So in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor,

there was a desire to do something.

The problem was that the United States was in no position to immediately do anything.

They had to regroup the Navy, recruit soldiers, build ships,

and start revving up the machine, which was to be the American wartime economy.

While serious confrontation with Japan was still months away,

one officer in the US Army had an idea.

It was an audacious idea that would satiate the American desire to strike back

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