D-day veteran “Papa jake ″ Larsen, who survived German bullets on Normandy’s bluffs in 1944, and then received 1.2 million followers on late tickets in life to share stories to remember World War II and their fallen Comrade, he died on Sunday, death by his family.
An animated speaker, who attracted the strangers with his quick smile and a generous neck, the boy of the country self-destroyed by Hope Township, Minnesota, “Cracking jokes the end”, his granddaughter wrote, announcing his death.
He was quickly filled with his “story time Papa Jake” Tiktok account from across the United States, where he was living in Lafate, California. The towns around Normandy are still grateful to the forces of the friendly countries who helped To capture Nazis In World War II, he also paid tribute to him.
Eric Risberg / AP 
Granddaughter Mckela Larsen posted on his social media accounts, “Our beloved Papa Jake died on July 17 at the age of 102.” “He went peacefully.”
“As Papa says, you love everyone the most,” he wrote.
Born on December 20, 1922 in Ovetona, Minnesota, Larsen grew up during the Great Depression and many times, he did not have electricity or flowing water, he told CBS Minnesota. Larsen said that he lied about his age when he was 15 years old to join the National Guard in 1938.
In 1942, he was sent abroad and posted in Northern Ireland. That operation became a sergeant and collected planning books for Normandi’s invasion.
Larsen learned to type with a typewriter at school, and when he was sent to France, he knew as much about typewriters as he knew about guns.
“This changed my life. It raised me properly,” he told CBS Minnesota in an interview before his death. “Every person who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day came through these fingers. I am showing you these fingers right now.”
Thomas Padila / AP 
He was almost among 160,000 affiliated soldiers Who exploded on the Normandi coast on D-Day, D-Day on June 6, 1944 to avoid the fire of machine-gun when he landed on Omaha Beach. They ignored it for ignoring the beach ignoring the beach, then herbs with German gun explosions that dropped American troops down. Larsen underlined several soldiers who were with them that day.
“We are lucky,” Larsen told Associated Press on the 81st anniversary of D-Day in June, Omaha Beach’s ignoring ignored between the tombs in the US cemetery.
“We are his family. We have the responsibility to honor these people who gave us a chance to survive.”
He went to fight through Battle of bulgeA fierce month -long battle in Belgium and Luxembourg which was one of the decisive moments of war and Hitler’s defeat. His service gave him a bronze star and a French Legion of Honor Award.
In recent years, Larsen repeatedly traveled for Normandy for the D-Day monument-and at every stage, “Papa Jake” was congratulated by people asking for a selfie. In turn, he offered a large neck for his greatest bliss.
A memorable encounter took place in 2023, when he came across Bill gladeenThe then 99-year-old British veteran, who survived a glider landing and a bullet on D-Day, puffed through his ankle.
Larsen told Gladeen, “I want to hug you, thank you. I have tears in my eyes. We were to meet.” The following year Gladen died.
In his ticket post and interview, Larsen combined with Somaras reminder about the magnitude of war.
Explaining AP that he was in Europe, Larsen said he is “no hero.” Speaking in 2024, he also had a message for world leaders: “Shanti Banao Nahin War.”
He often called himself a “lucky man in the world”, and expressed fear in all the attention he received. “I am just a boy of a country. Now I am a star on Tiktok,” he told AP in 2023. “I am a legend! I did not plan it, came about it.”
Small town museums and groups around Normandy who work to honor the heroes of D-Day and one of their most loyal visitors, Larsen, who shared online.
“He was an extraordinary witness and a carrier of memory,” posted on Facebook by the Olord Museum.
“He used to come to the museum every year, with his smile, his humility and his stories that touched all generations.
“Thank you for everyone.”
