D-Day veteran and TikTok star ‘Papa Jake' Larson dies at 102
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Mr. Larson in 2019, before going for a ride in the "The Spirit of Benovia" World War II-era aircraft in Oakland, Calif.
Eric Risberg/Associated Press
Born Dec. 20, 1922, in Owatonna, Minn., Mr. Larson enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lying about his age since he was only 15. In 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland. He became operations sergeant and assembled the planning books for the invasion of Normandy.
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He was among the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who stormed the Normandy shore on D-Day, June 6, 1944, surviving machine-gun fire when he landed on Omaha Beach. He made it unhurt to the bluffs that overlook the beach, then studded with German gun emplacements.
'We are the lucky ones,' Mr. Larson told The Associated Press at the 81st anniversary of D-Day in June, speaking amid the immaculate rows of graves at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.
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'We are their family. We have the responsibility to honor these guys who gave us a chance to be alive.'
He advanced on to participate in the Battle of the Bulge, a grueling month-long fight in Belgium and Luxembourg that was one of the defining moments of the war and of Hitler's defeat. His service earned him a Bronze Star and a French Legion of Honor award.
In recent years, he made repeated trips to Normandy for D-Day commemorations — and at every stop, 'Papa Jake' was greeted by people asking for a selfie. In return, he offered up a big hug.
One memorable encounter came in 2023, when he came across Bill Gladden, a then-99-year-old British veteran who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle.
'I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,' Mr. Larson told Gladden, as their handsclasped tightly. Gladden died the following year.
In his TikTok posts and interviews, Mr. Larson combined humorous anecdotes with somber reminders about the horrors of war.
In addition to the invasion of Normandy, Mr. Larson fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Eric Risberg/Associated Press
Reflecting to AP on the three years he was in Europe, Larson said he is 'no hero.' Speaking in 2024, he also had a message to world leaders: 'Make peace not war.'
He often called himself 'the luckiest man in the world,' and expressed awe at all the attention he was getting. 'I'm just a country boy. Now I'm a star on TikTok,' he said in 2023.
Small-town museums and groups around Normandy that work to honor D-Day's heroes and fallen shared tributes online.
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'He was an exceptional witness and bearer of memory,' the Overlord Museum posted on Facebook.
'He came every year to the museum, with his smile, his humility and his tales that touched all generations. His stories will continue to live. Rest in peace Papa Jake,' it read.
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