By Betsy Klein, CNN
(CNN) — Jake Larson, the World Conflict II veteran and social media star often known as “Papa Jake,” has died, his granddaughter posted on his social media accounts Saturday. He was 102.
“Our beloved Papa Jake has handed away on July seventeenth at 102 years younger. Please know, he went peacefully and was even cracking jokes til the very finish,” granddaughter McKaela Larson stated within the posts.
A member of the nation’s “Best Technology,” Larson gained a loyal following on social media as a centenarian, posting as @storytimewithpapajake on TikTok, the place he racked up greater than 1 million followers along with his tales about his life and navy service.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Larson in Normandy, France, in June 2024 on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Sitting in a wheelchair simply steps away from the shoreline, he stated he remembered the invasion “prefer it was yesterday.”
“I obtained off the touchdown craft and had water proper as much as my chin,” he informed CNN. “We have been all children.”
Larson informed Amanpour he was simply 15 years outdated when he enlisted within the Nationwide Guard — mendacity about his age on the time.
“I don’t suppose I used to be a hero. I used to be identical to anyone else. We have been all on this collectively,” he stated, including he was there to inform the tales of his many pals who died throughout the invasion that turned the tide of the warfare.
Requested by Amanpour whether or not he and different troopers knew what they have been preventing for on the time, Larson stated, “Oh, positively. That we knew. Each one in all us was ready to present our life to kick Hitler’s ass out of Europe. … And we did.”
Simply over three weeks in the past, Amanpour gained an Emmy for her interview with Larson, an honor she shared with him.
He reacted to the award in a video despatched to Amanpour: “It’s phenomenal. And right here I’m, little nation boy that joins the infantry at 15 years outdated and I come right here now, 102, occurring 103 and I’m successful one thing like this? There’s a God.”
“My dad had an epic, epic life,” his son, Karlan Larson stated in a quick cellphone interview with CNN.
His father’s Emmy is “proudly displayed” in his lounge, which Karlan Larson informed CNN can be “handed right down to members of the family — the grandkids should work out a schedule.”
Jake Larson was “overjoyed” that Amanpour shared her statue with him, his son stated.
The-CNN-Wire
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