“Papa Jake” Larson, a World War II D-Day veteran who catapulted to TikTok stardom with stories of the war and his fellow soldiers, has died.
He was 102.
His granddaughter McKaela Larson announced his death Saturday “with a heavy heart,” she said in a post on his TikTok page, Story Time with Papa Jake.
“Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young,” she wrote. “Please know, he went peacefully and was even cracking jokes till the very end.”
She then asked for family privacy “as we process this loss.”
Papa Jake was mourned from the U.S. all the way to Normandy, France, where he had been among 160,000 Allied troops who stormed the region’s beaches on June 6, 1944, to engineer a turning point in the war.
As part of the U.S. Army’s 135th Infantry Regiment in the 34th Infantry Division, nicknamed the “Red Bulls,” Larson landed on Omaha Beach along with 34,000 Allied troops. Dodging German machine gun fire from atop the bluffs overlooking the beach and avoiding land mines underfoot, he managed to reach the cliff base without a scratch as comrades fell around him. At least 2,400 American soldiers were lost on Omaha Beach alone.
Larson was the last surviving member of the unit.
AP Photo/Eric Risberg
D-Day veteran Jake Larson poses before going for a ride in the “The Spirit of Benovia” World War II-era aircraft in Oakland, Calif. in 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, another defining moment in the war. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a French Legion of Honor award for his World War II service.
Born in Minnesota in 1922, Larson was 15 when he lied about his age in 1938 to enlist in the National Guard. He was sent abroad in 1942 and stationed in northern Ireland, where he actually helped assemble the planning books for the Normandy invasion as an operations sergeant.
He took to TikTok in 2020 with McKaela Larson’s help during the pandemic lockdown, when D-Day commemoration events he had been set to attend in Normandy were canceled. A video she posted on her own channel asking for some love for her disappointed grandfather went viral as netizens clamored for more and asked her to create a TikTok just for him. Story Time with Papa Jake was born.
Five years later Larson had amassed 1.2 million TikTok followers, and his internet footprint included an Instagram account with 87,000 followers and a YouTube channel with more than 16,000 subscribers. He had walked McKaela down the aisle at her wedding, won an Emmy with CNN host Christianne Amanpour for an interview they did about D-Day, and hugged innumerable admirers who asked him for a selfie at one of the many events he attended in Normandy honoring that pivotal battle. In December 2024 he celebrated his 102nd birthday.
TiKTok / storytimewithpapajake
D-Day veteran Jake Larson celebrated his 102nd birthday in December 2024. (TiKTok / storytimewithpapajake)
“I got in on the planning of D-Day … I’m just a country boy,” Larson told The Associated Press in 2023. “Now I’m a star on TikTok. “You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”
Larson championed TikTok, noting that stories like his would never have seen the light of day without such a platform.
Tributes poured in from people thanking him for service to the U.S. and to the world, and for his stories that kept those experiences alive for future generations.
“I am so thankful to have shared my Papa Jake with you all,” his granddaughter wrote. “You meant the world to him. When the time is right, I will continue to share Papa Jake’s stories and keep his memory alive. We appreciate all the kind words and posts. As Papa would say, love you all the mostest.”
With News Wire Services
