He took a trip to Normandy for the 2023 D-Day commemorations.
that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.
“I got in on the planning of D-Day ... I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok,” he told The Associated Press with enthusiasm. “You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.” Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded.the Pegasus MemorialWorld War II veteran Britain's Bill Gladden, left, speaks with U.S WWII veteran Jack M. Larson in the Pegasus Bridge memorial in Benouville, Normandy, Monday June 5, 2023. That’s where he met Bill Gladden, a 99-year-old British veteran: “I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes.
He also went Sunday into a parade alongside other U.S. veterans, using wheelchairs, at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6, 1944. At every stop on his Normandy trip, “Papa Jake” was greeted by people asking for a selfie — in return, he offered up a big hug, to their greatest joy.Jake Larson was born in Owatonna, Minnesota. He enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lying about his age because he was only 15.In January 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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