Jake Larson, the World War II veteran and social media star known as “Papa Jake,” has died, his granddaughter posted on his social media accounts Saturday. He was 102.
“Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young. Please know, he went peacefully and was even cracking jokes til the very end,” granddaughter McKaela Larson said in the posts.
A member of the nation’s “Greatest Generation,” Larson gained a loyal following on social media as a centenarian, posting as @storytimewithpapajake on TikTok, where he racked up more than 1 million followers with his stories about his life and military service.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Larson in Normandy, France, in June 2024 on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Sitting in a wheelchair just steps away from the shoreline, he said he remembered the invasion “like it was yesterday.”
“I got off the landing craft and had water right up to my chin,” he told CNN. “We were all kids.”
Larson told Amanpour he was just 15 years old when he enlisted in the National Guard — lying about his age at the time.
“I don’t think I was a hero. I was just like anybody else. We were all in this together,” he said, adding he was there to tell the stories of his many friends who died during the invasion that turned the tide of the war.
Asked by Amanpour whether he and other soldiers knew what they were fighting for at the time, Larson said, “Oh, definitely. That we knew. Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler’s ass out of Europe. … And we did.”
Just over three weeks ago, Amanpour won an Emmy for her interview with Larson, an honor she shared with him.
He reacted to the award in a video sent to Amanpour: “It’s phenomenal. And here I am, little country boy that joins the infantry at 15 years old and I come here now, 102, going on 103 and I’m winning something like this? There is a God.”
“My dad had an epic, epic life,” his son, Karlan Larson said in a brief phone interview with CNN.
His father’s Emmy is “proudly displayed” in his living room, which Karlan Larson told CNN would be “handed down to family members — the grandkids will have to figure out a schedule.”
Jake Larson was “overjoyed” that Amanpour shared her statue with him, his son said.
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