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WWII Veteran and TikTok Storyteller ’Papa Jake’ Larson Dies at 102

His passing has prompted tributes from Normandy towns to social media followers who are pledging to carry forward his role as a living link to the era’s sacrifices.

World War II veteran Jake Larson attends an event commemorating the D-Day landings at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France on June 6, 2023.
FILE - D-Day veteran Jake Larson, a 102-year-old who is also a star on TikTok, with 1.2 million followers, greets schoolchildren during a visit on June 2, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, to the Normandy American Cemetery that is the final resting place for nearly 9,400 American war dead and which overlooks Omaha beach, one of the D-D-day invasion zones on June 6, 1944. (AP Photo/John Leicester, File)
FILE - World War II veteran Jake Larson meets youths during ceremonies at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings, on June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File)
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Overview

  • He died peacefully on July 17 at his home in California, with his granddaughter announcing that he was cracking jokes until the end.
  • Larson enlisted in the National Guard at 15 and served as operations sergeant, assembling the planning books for the June 1944 Normandy invasion before storming Omaha Beach under intense fire.
  • In his later years he cultivated over one million followers on TikTok as @storytimewithpapajake, using personal anecdotes to connect young audiences with frontline experiences and the Battle of the Bulge.
  • He returned to Normandy for the 75th through 81st D-Day anniversaries, including a weeklong visit in early June to share his recollections with schoolchildren and museum visitors.
  • Family members, veterans’ groups and small-town museums in France and the United States are honoring his legacy and urging others to preserve oral histories as World War II veterans pass away.