101-year-old East Bay TikTok star shares his WWII stories
MARTINEZ, Calif. - In his 101 years of life, Jake Larson has gained recognition for a number of remarkable feats, the most notable, his heroic acts as a World War II soldier.
And now, to a new generation of fans, Larson has become a TikTok star.
And he’s used his huge following to tell his war stories and keep history alive.
Known to his TikTok followers as "Papa Jake," the Martinez man has amassed more than 830,000 followers with some 9 million likes as he posts under the handle "@StorytimeWithPapaJake."
He’s brought his followers with him on his emotional trips back to Normandy, France to commemorate the WWII D-Day invasion. He’s now the last man standing of the military unit that stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day.
He’s told about his role in saving hundreds of American soldiers’ lives ahead of the Battle of the Bulge, the German offensive on the Western Front in December 1944.
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Beyond the gripping wartime stories, Larson has posted touching messages on Veterans Day and videos of special appearances the social media celebrity has made-- from a San Jose Sharks game to being honored on-stage during a concert performance by the country music group Zac Brown Band.
And he reads mail sent to him by his fans.
Larson also shares stories about the love of his life -- his wife, Lola, whom he called his "Forever Valentine."
In a viral post, he shared tears of joy and sadness as he was shown an app-generated animated image of Lola that seemed to bring her back to life.
"Holy smokes! She’s alive. I can’t believe it. It’s her!" he said in the post, as he wiped away his tears. "This past November, 23rd, we would have been married 75 years."
After an emotional pause, he said, "I still love her."
In 2019, before Larson’s social media stardom, KTVU did a feature on the WWII hero, as the then 96-year-old veteran prepared to make his first return to Normandy since the end of the war.
"I want to do this just to represent all the guys I was with," Larson explained, as he shared his memories of the bloody battle.
"There was a soldier lying, and I said, 'Buddy, do you have a match? I've got to have a cigarette.' He didn't move. I looked again. There was no head under the helmet," he said.
Larson said he had nightmares for 20 years after the war.
His foyer into the social media world came after his granddaughter, Mckaela Larson, posted a video of him talking about his war experiences on the 76th anniversary of D-Day in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"‘Papa, I put you on TikTok,’" he recalled his granddaughter telling him.
His response: "What the hell is TikTok?" He said that he thought it was some type of clock.
So his granddaughter set up Papa Jake as his own account and gave Grandpa a platform for him to share his stories.
And the war veteran said he's been invigorated by this opportunity, filled with a thrilling and enriching feeling that he's affecting people's lives.
"The joy and the satisfaction that it has brought me, it is unbelievable. It's made me want to keep going. The fact that I'm changing peoples' lives for the better, so wonderful to me," he told his followers, as he thanked them for bringing him that joy. "I’m not only going to thank you. I’m gonna tell you, ‘I love you. I love you!’"