101-year-old Bay Area veteran is a TikTok star, giving a new generation perspective on history
MARTINEZ, Calif. - He calls himself the luckiest man in the world.
At age 101, Martinez resident Jake Larson has lived many lives, not the least most notable, one as a World War II soldier who not only survived D-Day in Normandy, France, but as an army company clerk, he was among those behind the largest seaborne invasion in military history.
Larson's chilling stories bring to life moments in history that call for preservation, stories that should not be forgotten.
"The Germans had over a million mines on Omaha Beach," Larson recalled during a recent interview with KTVU. "I was more afraid of stepping on a landmine than I was being shot at."
And these stories are now being told to a new generation-- on TikTok, a platform popular among Gen Zers.
The war hero turned social media star has amassed more than 800,000 followers. His posts have received some 9 million likes.
And to the man, known to his followers as "Papa Jake," it's a whole new medium he didn't even know existed.
"Hell, I didn't even know what TikTok was. Now, when you talk about TikTok, I think of clocks!" he said.
His granddaughter Mckaela Larson first introduced the TikTok world to Papa Jake in 2020 on the 76th anniversary of D-Day.
She posted video of him talking about his experiences on that fateful day.
For his audience, he recounted moments like this: "I sense someone to my left. And I holler, ‘Hey, buddy. Have you got a match?’ I got no answer. So I looked. And there was a soldier. Laying there. And the helmet was lying on the side from him and the head was missing."
SEE ALSO: San Francisco weather: Rain will likely dampen Veterans Day parades
It didn't take long before "Storytime with Papa Jake" took flight and hit viral status, Larson's unfathomable war stories reaching an audience far and wide.
The farm boy from Minnesota was only 15 when he lied about his age, saying he was 18, so he could join the National Guard.
Now, he's the last man standing from the three different units he was in, his voice the only one left to give first-hand accounts of what he and his platoon-members endured.
Beyond his stories from the battlefield, Larson has taken his TikTok followers with him on his emotional trips back to Normandy to commemorate D-Day.
His posts also include the special honors and recognitions he's received for his heroism and his efforts to keep history alive.
And he shares about the things that mean the most to him, like his beloved Lola, his forever valentine. "We were married 75 years, and I still love her," he said of his late wife.
Through it all, not for a second does he take for granted his remarkable life.
"God has blessed me. He’s blessing me constantly," Papa Jake said, as he boasted, "I don’t have an ache or a pain in my body!"
And for anyone who might question his vitality, he demonstrated his strength for our camera, kicking up both legs above his head to prove it.
Jake Larson, 101, kicks his feet up in the air, demonstrating his strength.
Next month, Papa Jake will turn 102.
When asked what the secret was to his long and storied life, the answer is perhaps the same he would have given as a young 21-year-old man on the bloody shores of Omaha Beach: "My secret is just stay alive, I guess. Don't die!"
Each shared story by this social media star is a reaffirmation to him that he is indeed the luckiest man in the world.
"These are the things that keep happening to me. Why do they keep happening to me?" Papa Jake exclaimed. "I get thousands of letters and cards. And It brings tears to my eyes sometimes when I hear, ‘Papa. Jake, you. You have changed our lives.’"
This story was produced by KTVU Digital Media Producer Aja Seldon.