Harry Robert Momi was born in October 1924 in Stockton, California with one older sister. He was raised by his parents in Stockton where his father owned a bar and bought and sold businesses. His parents also dabbled in flipping houses; they purchased property, fix it up and sold it for a profit. Momi’s father was very popular among the neighborhood kids because he handed out snacks, candy, and soda. Momi loved living in Stockton and thought it was a great place to grow up. Momi attended public school for primary and secondary. Momi was in school when the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] occurred, and enlisted in the Army near the end of 1942. He and a friend went to the recruitment center together to join up. While Momi joined the army, his friend joined the Navy. Momi was sent to boot camp in Fort Brady, Michigan in January 1943. He did not see the ground for two months because it was covered with snow. He lived in an old barracks with a potbelly stove. He completed his basic training after six months and was then sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for two months to play basketball. He was then sent to Camp Pickett, Virginia and joined the 77th Infantry Division. He was sent with his unit to Hawaii for two months before heading to the Pacific theater. His unit saw combat in Guam [Annotator’s Note: Guam, Mariana Islands], Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, Philippines], and in the islands of Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan].

[Annotator’s Note: An air conditioner can be heard turning on and off throughout this clip.] Harry Robert Momi fought in Guam [Annotator’s Note: Battle of Guam, 21 July to 10 August 1944; Guam, Mariana Islands] with the 77th Infantry Division. His first night on the island, he slept with water up to his neck in a foxhole. Momi joined the cannon company and became a tank commander, driving a three-man tank. He was given a rifle for hand-to-hand combat. When he first landed in Guam, he recalled very little resistance from the enemy, and secured the island in a very short time. After securing the island, Momi’s unit went to a small island in the Philippines and then headed to invade Leyte. Momi met resistance during their invasion of Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944; Leyte, Philippines]. The Japanese often attacked at nighttime. His unit had to dig the Japanese out because they were hiding in caves. Combat was difficult, but Momi and his unit helped secure the island. Momi’s unit left Leyte and headed for Karama Retto [Annotator’s Note: Karama Retto, Okinawa Islands] where they found hundreds of suicide boats. The island was full of mines. Once the allies secured the airstrip, Momi and his unit headed to Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan]. While on Okinawa, they had to dig the Japanese out of the caves and secure the island. By the time Momi completed this, the war ended. Momi and his unit were on Keise Shima [Annotator’s Note: Keise Shima, Okinawa Islands] while they prepared for the invasion of Tokyo [Annotator’s Note: Tokyo, Japan] when the Japanese surrendered. During his time on Keise Shima, before attacking Okinawa, Momi took a picture of Ernie Pyle [Annotator’s Note: Ernest Taylor Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers] with his camera. The next day, Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper.

[Annotator’s Note: An air conditioner can be heard turning on and off throughout this clip.] At war’s end, Harry Robert Momi and the 77th Infantry Division was preparing to invade Tokyo [Annotator’s Note: Tokyo, Japan]. The United States dropped the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] and the Japanese surrendered. After the war ended, his unit was sent to a Japanese Island. The civilians on the island treated to Americans with respect. Momi went to a bar on the island one day and met a woman from his hometown [Annotator’s Note: Stockton, California]. She had been stuck on the island during the war and could not leave. Momi stayed on the Japanese Island for two months before coming home. Momi recalled that the villages on the island were still intact because the island was never invaded during the war. After getting enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home], Momi was sent back to the United States. He stopped in Hawaii for a short time and then went home to California. After he returned home, he went back to school and graduated from high school and played baseball. Momi joined the Air Force Reserves for a short time. Momi found a career in car sales. When he was discharged from the Army, he was a sergeant.

[Annotator’s Note: An air conditioner can be heard turning on and off throughout this clip.] The best thing Harry Robert Momi ever did was joining the Army, and coming out alive. He made some good friends while he was in the service and keeps in touch with them. Momi went to the World Series and reunited with a couple of men he had served with during the war. World War 2 made a man out of Momi. He served his time and did his duty. He “did a number” on several Japanese while he was on Leyte [Annotator’s Note: Leyte, Philippines]. There was another incident when a Japanese crept up on him and Momi was so surprised that he asked him, “Why aren’t you in your hole?” Momi was helpless and could not reach his gun because he was wearing a poncho. The Japanese ran off after someone tried to shoot at him. Today, Momi is happy to be alive and working. He started a little league for his community because he loved the game of baseball and thinks it is great for kids to make friends. Momi remarks about a speech he gave to a group of people where he was honored and inducted into an organization.