# Jake Larson
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jake_Larson.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Larson
> Source revision: 1356502210
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|American World War II veteran and TikToker (1922–2025)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox social media personality
|name = Jake Larson
|birth_name = Jake Melvin Larson[{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/who-was-papa-jake-larson-ww2-veteran-tiktok-star-dies-at-102-13909815.html/amp|title=Who was Papa Jake Larson, the 102-year-old WWII hero and TikTok star who inspired millions?|work=[Firstpost](/source/Firstpost)|date=July 21, 2025|access-date=July 21, 2025}}]
|image = D-Day Veterans at Normandy, 81st Anniversary (9082668) (cropped).jpg
|caption = Larson in 2025
|birth_date = {{birth date|1922|12|20}}
|birth_place = [Hope, Minnesota](/source/Hope%2C_Minnesota), U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2025|07|17|1922|12|20}}
|death_place = [Lafayette, California](/source/Lafayette%2C_California), U.S.
|occupation = TikToker
|tiktok_handle = storytimewithpapajake
|tiktok_display_name = Papa Jake
|tiktok_years_active = 2020–2025
|tiktok_followers = 1.2 million
|spouse = {{marriage|Lola Cassem|1945|1991|end=died.}}
|module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = United States
| branch = [Minnesota National Guard](/source/Minnesota_National_Guard)
[United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)
| branch_label = Branch
| service_years = 1938-1945
| service_years_label =
| rank = [Staff sergeant](/source/Staff_sergeant)
| rank_label =
| service_number =
| unit = [135th Infantry Regiment](/source/135th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)), [34th Infantry Division](/source/34th_Infantry_Division_(United_States))
| commands =
| known_for =
| battles = [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
* [Operation Overlord](/source/Operation_Overlord)
| battles_label =
| awards = {{plainlist|
* [Bronze Star Medal](/source/Bronze_Star_Medal)
* [Legion of Honor](/source/Legion_of_Honour)}}
| module =
}}
}}
'''Jake Melvin Larson''' (December 20, 1922 – July 17, 2025), also known as '''Papa Jake''',[{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/papa-jake-tiktok-dday-anniversary-d049a9d5fab52932d341ca5a34fb49c5|title=Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach, now he's a TikTok star|work=[AP News](/source/AP_News)|date=June 6, 2023|access-date=July 20, 2025}}][{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2024/08/12/from-normandy-to-tiktok-wwii-veteran-shares-his-wartime-stories-through-online-videos/|title=From Normandy to TikTok: Bay Area WWII veteran shares his wartime stories through online videos|work=Times-Herald|date=August 12, 2024|access-date=July 20, 2025|first=Caelyn|last=Pender}}][{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-nz/entertainment/celebrities/jake-larson-death-world-war-ii-veteran-and-tiktok-star-dies-aged-102/ar-AA1IYo5O?ocid=BingNewsSerp|title=Jake Larson death: World War II veteran and TikTok star dies aged 102|first=Shahana|last=Yasmin|work=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|date=July 20, 2025|access-date=July 21, 2025}}] was an American [World War II](/source/World_War_II) veteran and [TikTok](/source/TikTok)er. He was best known for sharing stories about his experiences of World War II on [TikTok](/source/TikTok).[{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2025/07/20/papa-jake-larson-dies/|title='Papa Jake' Larson, D-Day veteran who became a TikTok star, dies at 102|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)|date=July 20, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025|first=Praveena|last=Somasundaram}}]
== Early life and career ==
Larson was born in [Hope, Minnesota](/source/Hope%2C_Minnesota),[{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/san-jose-sharks-normandy-la-measles.html|title=D-Day Veteran to Return to Normandy for First Time in 75 Years|first=Jill|last=Cowan|access-date=July 20, 2025|date=April 24, 2019|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}] the son of Fred Larson, a [farmer](/source/farmer), and Margaret Peterson.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/papa-jake-larson-obituary-d-day-veteran-and-tiktok-sensation-nvx62zbt9?msockid=191f3e4906a76a4512c42cdb07356b7c|title='Papa' Jake Larson obituary: D-Day veteran and TikTok sensation|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|date=July 25, 2025|access-date=August 1, 2025}}] He joined the [Minnesota National Guard](/source/Minnesota_National_Guard) in 1938.[{{cite web |last1=Ortiz |first1=Miguel |title=D-Day veteran and beloved TikTok star Papa Jake Larson dies at 102 |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/d-day-veteran-and-beloved-tiktok-star-papa-jake-larson-died-at-102/ |website=We Are The Mighty |access-date=July 21, 2025 |date=July 19, 2025}}] He served with the [135th Infantry Regiment](/source/135th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)) in the [34th Infantry Division](/source/34th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)) in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/ww2-veteran-and-tiktok-star-papa-jake-larson-dies-aged-102/ar-AA1IXjuJ?ocid=BingNewsSerp|title=WW2 veteran and TikTok star 'Papa' Jake Larson dies aged 102|first=Jack|last=Burgess|work=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News)|date=July 20, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025|via=[MSN](/source/MSN)}}] During his military service, he held the rank of [staff sergeant](/source/staff_sergeant), and fought at [Omaha Beach](/source/Omaha_Beach) and the [Battle of the Bulge](/source/Battle_of_the_Bulge),[{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/us/papa-jake-larson-dies-ww2.html|title=Jake Larson, D-Day Veteran and TikTok Star, Dies at 102|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=July 20, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025|first=Adeel|last=Hassan}}] He was discharged from his military service in 1945.[{{Cite news|url=https://bestdefensefoundation.org/veteran/jake-m-larson/|title=SSGT Jake M. Larson|work=Best Defense Foundation|access-date=July 20, 2025}}] For his military service, he was awarded the [Bronze Star Medal](/source/Bronze_Star_Medal) and the [Legion of Honor](/source/Legion_of_Honour).[{{cite web |last1=Duster |first1=Chandelis |title=Jake Larson, a WWII veteran who became a TikTok star as 'Papa Jake', has died at 102 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/07/20/nx-s1-5474119/papa-jake-larson-wwii-veteran-obit |work=[NPR](/source/NPR) |access-date=July 21, 2025 |language=en |date=July 20, 2025}}][{{cite news |title=French Consul General in San Francisco honors 10 veterans |url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/french-consul-general-in-san-francisco-honors-10-veterans |access-date=July 21, 2025 |work=[KTVU](/source/KTVU) FOX 2 |date=February 3, 2015}}]
[[File:Ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery concludes D-Day 78 Anniversary (7677336).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Larson (bottom left) with [Mark Milley](/source/Mark_Milley), 2022]]
Larson created his [TikTok](/source/TikTok) account in June 2020.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.forcesnews.com/social-media/papa-jake-100-year-old-tiktok-star-who-narrowly-escaped-death-d-day|title=Papa Jake: The 102-year-old TikTok star who narrowly escaped death on D-Day|work=[Forces News](/source/British_Forces_Broadcasting_Service)|date=December 5, 2024|first=Marty|last=Townsend|access-date=July 20, 2025}}] After gaining popularity on TikTok, in 2021, he wrote his memoir ''The Luckiest Man in the World: Stories from the Life of Papa Jake''.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/101-year-old-world-war-ii-vet-becomes-viral-tik-tok-sensation-for-role-in-d-day-invasion/|title=101-year-old World War II vet becomes viral TikTok sensation for role in D-Day invasion|first=John|last=Lauritsen|work=[CBS News](/source/CBS_News)|date=June 7, 2024|access-date=July 20, 2025}}]
In June 2025, Larson won a [News and Documentary News Emmy Award](/source/News_and_Documentary_Emmy_Awards) in the category Outstanding Live Interview. His win was shared with [Christiane Amanpour](/source/Christiane_Amanpour).[{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/06/news-documentary-emmys-2025-winners-list-1236441515/|title=News & Documentary Emmy Winners List For Both Nights|first1=Glenn|last1=Garner|first2=Erik|last2=Pedersen|work=[Deadline Hollywood](/source/Deadline_Hollywood)|date=June 26, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025}}][{{Cite web|url=https://www.diablogazette.com/2025/07/veteran-papa-jake-larson-wins-an-emmy/|title=Veteran "Papa" Jake Larson Wins an Emmy!|work=The Diablo Gazette|date=July 2, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025}}]
== Personal life and death ==
In 1945, Larson married Lola Cassem.[{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/182504020/|title=Marriage License Applications|work=[Star Tribune](/source/Minnesota_Star_Tribune)|location=[Minneapolis, Minnesota](/source/Minneapolis%2C_Minnesota)|date=October 8, 1945|access-date=July 20, 2025|page=6|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}} {{Closed access}}][{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/The-i-paper/20250728/282071987952063|title=Life in Brief|work=[The i Paper](/source/The_i_Paper)|date=July 28, 2025|access-date=August 24, 2025|via=[PressReader](/source/PressReader)}}] Their marriage lasted until her death in 1991.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.walls102.com/2021/04/20/wwii-veteran-brought-to-tears-seeing-a-photo-of-his-late-wife-animated-with-technology/|title=WWII veteran brought to tears seeing a photo of his late wife animated with technology|work=Walls102|date=April 20, 2021|access-date=July 20, 2025}}]
[[File:WWII Veterans Flight- D-Day 79 (7831938).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Larson (left) with [Jeffery Broadwater](/source/Jeffery_Broadwater), 2023]]
On December 20, 2022, Larson [turned 100](/source/Centenarian).[{{cite web |last1=Rousselle |first1=Christine |title=TikTok star and WWII veteran 'Papa Jake' turns 100, wants future generations to know his stories |url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/tiktok-star-wwii-veteran-papa-jake-100-generations-know-stories |work=[Fox News](/source/Fox_News) |access-date=July 21, 2025 |date=December 20, 2022}}] He died at his home in [Lafayette, California](/source/Lafayette%2C_California), on July 17, 2025, at the age of 102.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/19/us/jake-larson-world-war-ii-veteran-dead|title=Jake Larson, World War II veteran turned TikTok star, dead at 102|first=Betsy|last=Klein|work=[CNN](/source/CNN)|date=July 19, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025}}][{{Cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/07/20/papa-jake-larson-dday-vet-tiktok-star-dead-age-102/|title='Papa Jake' Larson, D-Day vet turned TikTok star, dead at age 102|work=[New York Daily News](/source/New_York_Daily_News)|first=Theresa|last=Braine|date=July 20, 2025|access-date=July 20, 2025}}] At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the army's 135th Infantry Regiment.