PERSONAL: 101-year-old D-Day veteran prepares for 80th anniversary and becomes TikTok star

Record ID: 1821301

  • Title: PERSONAL: 101-year-old D-Day veteran prepares for 80th anniversary and becomes TikTok star
  • Date: 29th May 2024
  • Summary: AL-FALUJA TROUPE HOLDING PALESTINIAN FLAG / RAISING HAND PEACE SIGNS / AUDIENCE CHEERING AND CLAPPING MAN WEARING PALESTINIAN KEFFIYEH TAKING A VIDEO CAIRO, EGYPT (MAY 30, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF AL-FALUJA TROUPE, RAFIK AL-TAWEEL, SAYING: “We are a troupe affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent in Cairo, they support this troupe (financially).
  • Embargoed: 12th June 2024 10:50
  • Keywords: D-Day D-Day anniversary Jake Larson Papa Jake Papa Jake Larson World War II
  • Location: MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / OFF THE COAST OF NORMANDY, FRANCE / LANDING BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATION, NORMANDY, FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • City: MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / OFF THE COAST OF NORMANDY, FRANCE / LANDING BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATION, NORMANDY, FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA004477322052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: World War Two veteran Jake Larson is 101 years old, but his memory remains as sharp as ever.
    Sitting in his home in Martinez, California, alongside photos and mementos from his years in the National Guard and the U.S. Army, Larson can recall every moment from the day he landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, history’s largest amphibious invasion on June 6, 1944.
    He carried 74 pounds (34 kilograms) of gear in his pack, the waves rocked the boats up and down four feet (1.2 meters) at time, the Germans fired 14-inch (35.5-centimeter) shells overhead and small arms from the dunes.
    But what he especially remembers are his brothers-in-arms who did not make it.
    “I walked in over that minefield, where so many were killed. Not only from the mines, but from the small arms fire. And they're all up there above. Those guys there, those there are the ones that deserve recognition. And I'm here to make sure that happens. I honor those guys,” he told Reuters in May.
    Larson, who goes by the name “Papa Jake,” is among a dwindling number of World War Two veterans who will return this June to mark the 80th anniversary of the allied invasion when more than 150,000 allied soldiers invaded France to drive out Hitler's forces.
    Born in the U.S. state of Minnesota, Larson joined the National Guard as a teenager before the Guard was called up at the start of WWII. After arriving in Londonderry in Northern Ireland, he was transferred to the Army V Corps.
    It was under the V that he was assigned to the D-Day invasion.
    On June 6, after hours of circling in the waters, he and his unit received the word. One by one they jumped into the cold waters of the English Channel. Wading into water up to his neck holding his rifle above, he made it onto the beach.
    He eventually found a small stone berm with just enough space for cover. He took out a cigarette from his waterproof pack, but his matches were soaked.
    “I sensed someone took to my left. So I just hollered, 'hey, buddy, have you got a match?' I got no response," Laron said. "So I looked back. There's a guy laying. And there was no head under the helmet. It was like magic. I was hearing the soul of that guy was telling me, 'Get up and run right now.' So I did.”
    He ran to safety, fighting alongside his fellow infantrymen. He survived D-Day and later the Battle of the Bulge, six battles in total during his time in Europe.
    He remembers that story and many others to this day. And now he’s sharing those stories on TikTok, thanks to his granddaughter who started the account for him during the pandemic.
    With the username @StoryTimeWithPapaJake, he’s amassed more than 800,000 followers, with 8.7 million likes, and he's even received fan letters in the mail.
    “You cannot believe what people say, ‘Thank you, thank you, Jake.’ I’m a very positive person and I show that when I’m talking and they said, ‘You have changed our lives.’ It’s an honor for me to hear something like that. It keeps me going,” he said.
    (Production: Nathan Frandino)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains photographs or artwork. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing this clip.
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