- Jake Larson, a 101-year-old Army veteran and survivor of the Normandy landings, is preparing to travel to France to mark the 80th anniversary of the historic invasion.
- A Minnesota native, Larson enlisted in the National Guard as a teenager and then transferred to the Army’s V Corps for the Normandy landings.
- Larson has garnered more than 8.7 million likes on TikTok by sharing her story with a younger audience.
Jake Larson, a 101-year-old U.S. World War II veteran and survivor of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in history, plans to travel to France on the 80th anniversary to honor comrades who never made it home.
Surrounded by photos and memorabilia from his time in the National Guard and U.S. Army in his Martinez, California, home, Larson can relive every moment from the day he landed on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion and became “the last man standing,” as he calls himself.
He was carrying 74 pounds of gear in a rucksack, waves were rocking the landing craft up and down at times four feet, and Germans were firing 14-inch shells from above and small arms fire from the sand dunes.
TikTok star and WWII veteran “Papa Jake” turns 100 and wants future generations to know his story
“I’ve walked over minefields where so many people have died – not just from mines but from small arms fire. They’re all up there. Those are the people who deserve the credit, and I’m here to make sure that happens. I respect them,” he told Reuters in May.
Jake Larson, 101, a World War II veteran who served on D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in history, at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, speaks to Reuters in an interview at his home in Martinez, California, on May 20, 2024. (Reuters/Dylan Buscher)
Larson, known as “Papa Jake,” is among a dwindling number of World War II veterans returning home this June to mark the anniversary of the Allied Invasion, when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France to oust Adolf Hitler’s Nazi German forces.
Larson is wearing a black jacket stamped “World War II Survivor” and that he survived six battles in Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge.
Born in Minnesota, Larson enlisted in the US National Guard as a teenager before it was called up at the start of World War II, and was transferred to the Army’s V Corps after arriving in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
He was assigned to command V Corps for the D-Day invasion.
On June 6, after hours of circling at sea, he and his men received word. One by one, they jumped into the cold waters of the English Channel. With his rifle held aloft and up to his neck in water, he managed to make it to shore.
He finally found a small stone bank that offered just enough space to hide in. He took out some cigarettes from his waterproof pack, but the matches were wet.
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“I felt somebody come to my left, so I just yelled, ‘Hey buddy, you got any matches?’ No one answered,” Larson said. “So I turned around, and there was a guy lying there, and there was no head under his helmet. It was like magic. I heard the spirit of the guy telling me, ‘Get up and get out of here right now,’ so I did.”
He still remembers that story and many others, and now he tells them. On TikTokHe is grateful to his granddaughter for opening an account on his behalf during the pandemic.
Under the username @StoryTimeWithPapaJake, he has amassed more than 800,000 followers and 8.7 million likes, and also receives fan mail.
“I can’t believe the things people say: ‘Thank you, Jake, thank you.’ I’m a very positive person and it shows when I’m talking and they say, ‘You changed our lives.’ It’s an honour for me to hear those words. It keeps me going,” he said.
“People are thanking me for being a hero,” Larson said, “and I’m here to tell them I’m not a hero.”
