FOXBORO, Mass. — It’s rare for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to thank a reporter for asking a question.
Belichick did just that Wednesday when ESPN Radio’s Alan Segel asked the head coach about the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Belichick’s father, Steve Belichick, served in the Navy during World War II then went on to coach at the Naval Academy from 1956 to 1989.
“Yeah, absolutely. That’s a big one,” Belichick said. “(Filmmaker) Tim Gray has done a lot of work with World War II. I know he’s in Hawaii now. Pretty big day in our history, certainly Naval history.
“For me, the lesson on Pearl Harbor and for us as a team and individually is not what happened on Dec. 7, although that was a lesson there, but the response. What the response was from our nation, from our military, from our civilians, from our population to battle the world on two fronts and win both of them. What this country did under Roosevelt’s leadership as well as the multiple military leaders and to go fight in Europe and to go fight in southeast Asia, Japan, the response to what happened on Dec. 7, 1941, was pretty impressive.
“I remember my dad talking a lot about that when it happened, when he found out, when he went into the Navy and the Great Lakes and then eventually went to Europe, went to Okinawa. It was a tough time in this country, but it was a great example of the patriotism of our citizens fighting together, pulling together and being victorious in a number of different ways. It’s a special day, one we hope we don’t see again. Tough day for the Navy, but they responded, bounced back. The Battle of Midway, that was really a huge turning point that if that had not gone the way it did, I don’t know. It probably would have been a longer fight.”
Belichick’s response gives a look into how he ties history and lessons from the military into his coaching.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
