When , Jake Larson , was 15 times older in 1938, he lied about his time to visit the , National Guard , in his home in , Minnesota.
He stormed the shores of Normandy on D-Day, survived much near names, and spent the next seven decades serving in World War II. He was also sent abroad to combat in World War II.
Then, at 101, he might seem like an unlikely prospect for social media fame – in truth, he asked his daughter McKaela Larson, 31,” What the devil is TikTok”? when she told him about it for the first time.
” He thought it was like a clock”, McKaela said.
But with her aid, Larson – better known as” Papa Jake” – has indeed become a social media experience, sharing his existence stories with more than 800, 000 followers on TikTok, connecting with younger years and bringing his visitors along on his earnings to Normandy and , Northern Ireland, where he was stationed during the battle.
And he’s not adrift about the success of this most recent book in his busy life.
” I’m a Twitter celebrity”! Johnson said in an interview at his Martinez house, where he has spent more than 35 years with his family. ” You got something unique. I’m not just the regular”.
Larson’s TikTok account began in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Home from her job working on cruise ships, McKaela Larson asked viewers on the platform to” send]Larson ] some love” after his plans to attend the 2020 D-Day anniversary ceremony were canceled, she said.
” They really, truly loved , Papa Jake , and his account”, McKaela said – and demanded that he began an account of his own.
That bill,  , @storytimewithpapajake, is then closing in on a million enthusiasts and has garnered a combined 8.9 million wants. Larson has described his experiences returning to Normandy for the 80th commemoration of D-Day, shared his experiences with the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day, and compared his experiences with the war.
The answer to her grandfather’s bill has been “mind-blowing”, McKaela said. It actually made me realize how crucial it is to promote his tales.
At his house, Larson is surrounded by paraphernalia and accolades from his period fighting in World War II – pictures, pins, areas, National colors. He also has a unique Funko Pop figure on a shelf next to him. This serves as the landscape for most of Larson’s video, which are filmed and posted by McKaela.
Larson’s TikTok movies and living story had brought him international attention: He has bins of letters sent to him by TikTok viewers. He accompanied the , Zac Brown Band , onscreen twice, including in July at , SoFi Stadium , in , Los Angeles, where he received a standing applause from tens of thousands of visitors. He was featured in an , NBC Sports , feature , narrated by , Matt Damon , that played during the 2024 , Olympic Games.
” I get teary-eyed when I start telling this thing. This is unbelievable”, Larson said. ” I do n’t think I’m worth all this stuff. I do n’t think I’m any different from anybody else”.
Most recently, Larson traveled to , France , for the 80th commemoration of D-Day, where he honored his brother fallen men, met his European viewers and shook the hand of President , Joe Biden.
” Those people – it was so mad – they wanted my signature, they wanted to shake my side”, Larson said. One man sat up on a table and said,” I signed his buttock and he stretched out his clothes.”
” Those people went through hell, and they are so thankful”, Larson added. ” The persons in , Belgium , and , France , are the greatest”.
He added that he intends to travel back to Normandy for upcoming D-Day events whenever possible.
” If I keep feeling like this right here – no symptoms, no symptoms – I’m going”, he said. ” I owe it to the people in France”.
Larson participated in the top secret preparing of the war due to his potential to kind, and he credited his life during the Omaha Beach getting to his small size and the Germans no learning “how to take a toothpick.”
” Every person that landed on Omaha Beach, every person that landed on that beach on D-Day … came through these fingers”, he said, holding out his hands and miming typing.
According to McKaela, it is crucial to keep telling World War II stories because “you are doomed to repeat history if you do n’t know it.” She added that hearing these tales from a first-hand perspective and witnessing how telling them alter their voice and posture adds depth.
” Not that many people … have their grandpas or great-grandfathers around to tell those stories anymore”, McKaela said. ” It’s very important to keep that history alive”.
Before they began filming them online, McKaela was struck by the new details he would recall recall with each telling. She had heard many of Larson’s stories before filming them.
” It was amazing – it kind of unlocked his memory in a way”, McKaela said.
She said that because of the joy it has brought her grandpa, she is very proud of the project. She is also pleased that she can share these videos with all of the upcoming generations, including her children.
” I’m so happy to share my papa with other people all over the world so that they can respect him as much as I do,” McKaela said.
” I made it through the war – through six battles– without a scratch”, he said. Nobody else I served with is still alive, despite the fact that I am now here today.
” They did n’t make it, but they paved the way for me to make it”, Larson continued. ” I want to make sure that those guys that are up there – they gave their lives – I want them to know that we all appreciate what they did, and this is my way of doing it.”
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