-Jacquetta-Clark.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75&w=3840&q=100)
Chelsea Arts Festival: new London event announces line-up
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Daily Mirror
TikTok star with millions of followers who stormed D-Day beaches dies aged 102
Becoming a sensation on TikTok, World War Two veteran Jake Larson, also known as Papa Jake, who avoided machine gun fire when storming the beach on D-Day, has died aged 102 A much-loved World War Two veteran turned social media star who gathered more than a million followers has died aged 102. Tributes from around the world have flooded in for Jake Larson, best known as Papa Jake, after his granddaughter McKaela Larson broke the news on TikTok. Uploading the post on Saturday, July 18, she wrote: 'Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young. He went peacefully and was even cracking jokes 'til the very end.' 'I am so thankful to have shared my Papa Jake with you all. You meant the world to him. When the time is right, I will continue to share Papa Jake's stories and keep his memory alive. We appreciate all the kind words and posts. As Papa would say, love you all the mostest.' In January 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland, where he was promoted to operations sergeant and became a part of the planning for Operation Overlord - the D-Day landings. Jake was then among the Allied troops on the day who stormed the beaches of France in 1944, surviving machine-gun fire when he landed on Omaha Beach before attacking the Nazi German forces and helping to end the war a year later. Speaking to the Associated Press last month for the D-Day anniversary, Jake said:" We are the lucky ones. They had no family. We are their family. We have the responsibility to honour these guys who gave us a chance to be alive." In the years that followed, he'd head back to t hose beaches in Normandy on several occasions, always embracing fellow veterans commemorating those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. However, more than 80 years later, the Minnesota native, born December 20, 1922, embraced the digital era, where he managed to capture the hearts of a whole new generation. Creating videos about Memorial Day celebrations, stories from World War Two, and even a trip to Disney Land, the veterans' videos have been viewed tens of millions of times. He worked with his granddaughter to make many of the videos, with Jake having previously said: "I didn't even know what TikTok was until my granddaughter sent it to me one day," Jake Larson said when asked about the app. Just three weeks ago, Papa Jake achieved another accolade, co-winning an Emmy Award with journalist Christiane Amanpour for a captivating interview they conducted marking last year's 80th anniversary of D-Day. After the news broke of his passing, Christiane posted: 'So sorry to hear this. They really don't make them like Jake Larson anymore. The sacrifices he made with his Band of Brothers in WWII, and the joy he lived throughout his long life, offer an example to us all. RIP' While Normandy's Overlord Museum wrote: ' Papa Jake was more than a soldier – he was an extraordinary witness and a messenger of remembrance.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
WW2 veteran and TikTok star 'Papa' Jake Larson dies aged 102
Tributes are being paid to American World War Two veteran and social media star Jake Larson, known online as 'Papa Jake', who has died at the age of 102. Larson was among the Allied troops in D-Day who attacked Nazi Germany's forces on the beaches of northern France in 1944, helping to end later life he embraced social media and gained 1.2 million followers on TikTok, where he shared stories to commemorate WW2 and his fallen comrades. Three weeks ago he co-won an Emmy Award with British-Iranian journalist Christiane Amanpour for their interview marking last year's 80th anniversary of D-Day. His granddaughter McKaela Larson said on TikTok that he died on 17 July but "went peacefully and was even cracking jokes 'til the very end"."I am so thankful to have shared my Papa Jake with you all. You meant the world to him," she told followers of his Storytime with Papa Jake TikTok account."As Papa would say, love you all the mostest," McKaela Larson asked for her family to be given privacy but said she will "continue to share Papa Jake's stories and keep his memory alive". "I didn't even know what TikTok was until my granddaughter sent it to me one day," Jake Larson said when asked about the also served in the US Army at the Battle of the Bulge in the Allied invasion of occupied France, when he was aged 19, he was stationed at Lurgan, in Northern Ireland. Larson visited Normandy several times for D-Day commemorations in recent years.
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Scottish Sun
D-Day veteran war hero and TikTok star who survived German gunfire on Normandy beaches dies aged 102
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A D-DAY veteran war hero who became a TikTok sensation late in life has died aged 102. Papa Jake Larson survived German gunfire on Normandy beaches in 1944 and then gained over 1.2 million followers by sharing stories to commemorate World War II and his fallen comrades. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 D-Day veteran Jake Larson poses before going for a ride in the 'The Spirit of Benovia' World War II-era aircraft in 2019 Credit: AP 4 Larson is greeted by pilot Joe Anderson, left, before going for a ride in the aircraft Credit: AP:Associated Press 4 World War II veteran Jake Larson meets youths during ceremonies at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings Credit: AP The war hero's grieving granddaughter McKaela announced his death on social media, sharing how he passed "peacefully" on Thursday. She wrote: "An animated speaker who charmed strangers young and old with his quick smile and generous hugs, the self-described country boy from Minnesota was cracking jokes til the end." McKaela added: "As Papa would say, love you all the mostest." Tributes have poured into his Story Time with Papa Jake TikTok account. read more news HOSPITAL HORROR Man sucked into MRI machine went in to see his wife and died in her arms Meanwhile towns around Normandy, still grateful to Allied forces who helped defeat the occupying Nazis in World War II, paid him homage too. Born in 1922, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Larson enlisted in the National Guard in 1938. The war hero had lied about his age as he was just 15 years old at the time. In 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland before becoming operations sergeant and assembling the planning books for the invasion of Normandy. He was among the nearly 160,000 brave allied troops who stormed the Normandy shore on D-Day, June 6, 1944, surviving machine-gun fire when he landed on Omaha Beach. Larson said at the 81st anniversary of D-Day in June: "We are the lucky ones. We are their family. We have the responsibility to honor these guys who gave us a chance to be alive." Nazi Hunters Thomas Will Ludwigsburg Germany Robin Perrie It represents one of the defining moments of the war and of evil Hitler's defeat. Larson's incredible service earned him a Bronze Star and a French Legion of Honor award. In recent years, Larson made repeated trips to Normandy for D-Day commemorations and at every stop. And since gaining social media popularity too, Papa Jake was greeted by people asking for a selfie - but offered big hugs instead. One memorable encounter came in 2023, when he came across Bill Gladden, a then-99-year-old British veteran who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle. He told Gladden as they held hands: "I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet." Gladden passed away the following year. In his TikTok posts that have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views and likes, Larson combined humorous anecdotes with somber reminders about the horrors of war. Speaking of his social media fame in 2023, he said: "I'm just a country boy. Now I'm a star on TikTok. I'm a legend! I didn't plan this, it came about." Larson has previously refused to call himself a "hero" and asked world leaders to "make peace not war".
