Latest news with #GreatestGeneration
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jake Larson, World War II veteran turned TikTok star, dead at 102
Jake Larson, the World War II veteran and social media star known as 'Papa Jake,' has died, his granddaughter posted on his social media accounts Saturday. He was 102. 'Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young. Please know, he went peacefully and was even cracking jokes til the very end,' granddaughter McKaela Larson said in the posts. A member of the nation's 'Greatest Generation,' Larson gained a loyal following on social media as a centenarian, posting as @storytimewithpapajake on TikTok, where he racked up more than 1 million followers with his stories about his life and military service. CNN's Christiane Amanpour interviewed Larson in Normandy, France, in June 2024 on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Sitting in a wheelchair just steps away from the shoreline, he said he remembered the invasion 'like it was yesterday.' 'I got off the landing craft and had water right up to my chin,' he told CNN. 'We were all kids.' Larson told Amanpour he was just 15 years old when he enlisted in the National Guard — lying about his age at the time. 'I don't think I was a hero. I was just like anybody else. We were all in this together,' he said, adding he was there to tell the stories of his many friends who died during the invasion that turned the tide of the war. Asked by Amanpour whether he and other soldiers knew what they were fighting for at the time, Larson said, 'Oh, definitely. That we knew. Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler's ass out of Europe. … And we did.' Just over three weeks ago, Amanpour won an Emmy for her interview with Larson, an honor she shared with him. He reacted to the award in a video sent to Amanpour: 'It's phenomenal. And here I am, little country boy that joins the infantry at 15 years old and I come here now, 102, going on 103 and I'm winning something like this? There is a God.' 'My dad had an epic, epic life,' his son, Karlan Larson said in a brief phone interview with CNN. His father's Emmy is 'proudly displayed' in his living room, which Karlan Larson told CNN would be 'handed down to family members — the grandkids will have to figure out a schedule.' Jake Larson was 'overjoyed' that Amanpour shared her statue with him, his son said.
CNN
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Jake Larson, World War II veteran turned TikTok star, dead at 102
Jake Larson, the World War II veteran and social media star known as 'Papa Jake,' has died, his granddaughter posted on his social media accounts Saturday. He was 102. 'Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young. Please know, he went peacefully and was even cracking jokes til the very end,' granddaughter McKaela Larson said in the posts. A member of the nation's 'Greatest Generation,' Larson gained a loyal following on social media as a centenarian, posting as @storytimewithpapajake on TikTok, where he racked up more than 1 million followers with his stories about his life and military service. CNN's Christiane Amanpour interviewed Larson in Normandy, France, in June 2024 on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Sitting in a wheelchair just steps away from the shoreline, he said he remembered the invasion 'like it was yesterday.' 'I got off the landing craft and had water right up to my chin,' he told CNN. 'We were all kids.' Larson told Amanpour he was just 15 years old when he enlisted in the National Guard — lying about his age at the time. 'I don't think I was a hero. I was just like anybody else. We were all in this together,' he said, adding he was there to tell the stories of his many friends who died during the invasion that turned the tide of the war. Asked by Amanpour whether he and other soldiers knew what they were fighting for at the time, Larson said, 'Oh, definitely. That we knew. Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler's ass out of Europe. … And we did.' Just over three weeks ago, Amanpour won an Emmy for her interview with Larson, an honor she shared with him. He reacted to the award in a video sent to Amanpour: 'It's phenomenal. And here I am, little country boy that joins the infantry at 15 years old and I come here now, 102, going on 103 and I'm winning something like this? There is a God.' 'My dad had an epic, epic life,' his son, Karlan Larson said in a brief phone interview with CNN. His father's Emmy is 'proudly displayed' in his living room, which Karlan Larson told CNN would be 'handed down to family members — the grandkids will have to figure out a schedule.' Jake Larson was 'overjoyed' that Amanpour shared her statue with him, his son said.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Silver Linings: ‘Let's do lunch?'
My wife likes to say that 'Food is Love.' She has it cross-stitched and placed on a wall between the dining room and kitchen to ensure it is visible and not forgotten. More than just actually eating or preparing a meal, she likes entertaining - having others over while sitting around talking after sharing a meal. She used to volunteer frequently for church and community potluck dinners, but we don't seem to have them as much anymore. Some may even see visiting in the hall as a distraction from the main reason for going to church. More and more people attending community groups likewise seem to prefer to have a meeting, conduct business, and leave immediately once the meeting ends. No time to linger. Get things done and move on. Some years ago, Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam wrote a groundbreaking book entitled Bowling Alone about the decline of social interaction in America, about our tendency to want more 'me time' and less 'we time.' Putnam writes convincingly that we have, in fact, seen a significant decline in 'social capital.' He provides mounds of data showing that we spend a lot more time alone than we used to, and it shows up in decreasing voting rates, plummeting volunteering rates, and less time mingling, entertaining, or having others over to the house. More and more have 'She sheds' and 'Man caves' where they can be alone. And many trust each other less and keep their distance from neighbors. By contrast, in The Greatest Generation journalist Tom Brokaw describes how the generation of Americans who came of age in the 1940's was better at getting together for community picnics and church socials than any generational group that preceded or followed them. These people had learned from experience how to cooperate, do things together, and root for each other; they succeeded not only in transforming American society but also safeguarding democracy, Brokaw writes. Yet, we are social beings if we are anything. And sharing meals together encourages a sense of belonging. A 2017 UK study showed that eating with others provides both social and individual benefits. Those who eat socially more often feel happier and are more satisfied with life, are more trusting of others, are more engaged with their local communities, and have more friends they can depend on for support. Eating together involves more laughter and reminiscing, more bonding and less detachment and alienation. Utah community leader and former Utah Tech University Trustee Julie Beck is convinced that the best way to connect either with grandchildren or others is to go to lunch together. 'It is disarming,' she says. 'Friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members let their guard down and get real when eating together. My husband jokes that he is going to put 'Let's do lunch,' on my tombstone because I go to lunch so often with others. But I am convinced that real conversations over lunch are more effective than any other option.' The informal atmosphere of lunch allows for a more relaxed and less pressured environment for having conversations, encouraging genuine expressions of each other's thoughts and feelings. Sharing a meal creates a common ground and a sense of togetherness, making it easier to connect and bond. Food itself can become a lighter topic of conversation, allowing you to focus on something outside of typical concerns or issues and later find common ground. Thomas Jefferson himself used to invite disagreeing associates over for dinner, with encouragement to steer conversation towards unifying ideals and away from divisive issues. Casual conversations over lunch can help build rapport and trust, making it easier to discuss more personal or sensitive topics in the future. 'I've been going to lunch regularly with the same group of high school friends for more than 40 years,' Mary Matheson says. 'They know me so well that some things don't really require much explanation. We can talk in 'shorthand.'' Keith Murdoch agrees. 'I hang out with the same 4-5 guys that I knew in high school. We're all retired, and we may go to sports games together, but we always go eat before or after any event. That's where we talk. That's when the good stuff comes out.' Whether you are using a meal like this to unload emotional baggage or update each other on recent successes, these shared conversations over lunch help offload our burdens and reduce the daily stressors that are constantly nipping at our heels. There's something about the act of sharing food that deepens our relationships. It's no wonder that studies show families who eat together regularly tend to have stronger bonds. Dinner parties can stimulate this same togetherness among casual acquaintances. We host a block party each October and invite the 30 households in our neighborhood to a backyard barbeque. We supply hamburgers and hot dogs while asking our neighbors to bring a favorite family dessert or salad. The backyard table gets filled with everything from shredded green Jello salad to Indian naan. As we eat, we talk about each other's families, cultures, and personal histories. By the end of the night, what began as a group of acquaintances fast becomes a group of friends. There is a certain intimacy that goes with having neighbors over for dinner—even if it's in the backyard. Such home hospitality invites others into our lives in a way that going out to eat can't replicate. It's an expression of trust, not only an opportunity for shared entertainment. Such dinner parties can create the kind of connection that the 'greatest generation' intuitively understood and exemplified. There's a time and place for 'doing lunch' - just as there is 'having others over for dinner.' An informal setting, a shared experience, a chance to break bread together may seem like a lost art. But with a little encouragement and a few tips, it can be revived. The benefits for all of us are enormous.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WW2 veteran Cas Salemi of Mass. has seen the horrors of war. On Flag Day, he will turn 103
World War II veteran Caster 'Cas' Salemi, a longtime Massachusetts resident, will turn 103 this weekend, on Flag Day. Salemi, of North Attleboro, served in the Army's 251st Field Artillery Battalion in the South Pacific during the war. He served in two of its major campaigns, New Guinea and the Philippines. He's among the few remaining members of American war heroes known as the 'Greatest Generation,' said Air Force veteran Natalee Webb-Rubino, who reached out to Boston 25 to share Salemi's story. Nearly 131 World War II veterans die each day and of the 16 million men and women who served during the war, just over 100,000 remain, Webb-Rubino said. 'This 'Greatest Generation' are a rapidly dwindling sector of Americans that we should honor most reverently,' said Webb-Rubino, a Franklin resident. OFF TO WAR After training in Paris, Texas for a year, the 21-year-old Salemi set off on a 30-day ocean voyage to New Guinea, Webb-Rubino said. He had no fresh water on the journey. Soldiers had to wait for rain to shower. As they neared the coast, soldiers saw lush green fields of grass -- 'kunai' grass. Salemi and others had to use their bayonets to cut through the tough, fibrous blades of thick grass to make camp. At camp, Salemi was handed a can of British Bully Beef (C-Rations) that were from World War I, and made 28 years earlier. 'When we opened the rations the Palm Trees wilted!' Salemi said, as told to Webb-Rubino. Having run the enemy off to the West Coast of New Guinea, his unit prepared for their next campaign in the Philippines. Salemi and the 251st were among the first soldiers to land in Luzon. As they offloaded the vehicles from their boat, the truck containing all of Salemi's communications equipment slipped into a sink hole. With his truck and supplies gone, he had to sit on the beach for three days waiting for their replacement. DANGEROUS MISSION In 1941, in Manila, Salemi and his unit provided critical defense, Webb-Rubino said. Over 100,000 Filipino civilians were killed by the enemy. 'Cas and his unit bravely fought the enemy for 165 days without rest,' Webb-Rubino said. Radio frequencies in the thick and hilly jungle terrain of the Philippines would not work and had to be dangerously hardwired. As a T-4 or Technical Sergeant, Salemi's job was to lay vital communications wire between the 251st firing batteries and its command base. He recalled to Webb-Rubino one dangerous mission where his unit had been pinned down in a valley between two mountains under heavy artillery action. The enemy would roll out cannons from a cave and fire upon the Americans, he said, as told to Webb-Rubino. With no way out, the men completely disassembled an M90 Howitzer cannon and dragged it across to the other mountain where they could see the enemy's cave. 'When the enemy once again rolled out their deadly cannons, the soldiers of the 251st were ready and successfully brought an end to the enemy's carnage in this Valley,' Webb-Rubino said. In another routine mission, the men positioned their allotted four cannons and created a perimeter around them. Soon after, they heard and felt the ground rumbling. The enemy had stampeded a whole herd of carabao, or water buffalo, directly in their path, Webb-Rubino said. 'The men ran for cover under the guns, anywhere, just to get away from the animals to avoid death by trampling,' she said. NUCLEAR BOMBS, WAR INJURIES In 1945, Japan ended its aggressions after nuclear bombs were dropped on its cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, respectively. Japan surrendered days later, on Aug. 14, 1945. Salemi was severely injured with 'jungle rot,' a condition caused by prolonged exposure to moisture with the inability to keep skin dry leading to a fungal infection. The North Attleboro veteran could barely walk, covered in the fungus on his hands and feet, he said, as told to Webb-Rubino. He was medically evacuated on a ship back to the United States. During the 17-day trip home, in the aftermath of Typhoon Queenie, Salemi experienced sustained winds of 90 mph and rough seas with 50 to 60-foot swells. While recovering from his severe injuries in California, he and other GIs in his ward heard a strange noise reminiscent of an incoming artillery fire. The loud noise, which was a jet flying overhead, prompted the soldiers to jump off their beds, Salemi recalled, as told to Webb-Rubino. They dove underneath them believing they were once again under attack. To this day, the Massachusetts centenarian remembers bonding with other soldiers 'from all walks of life' while serving with them during their darkest hours. 'Learning how to live with others from all different walks of life creates that special bond or camaraderie that soldiers share,' Salemi said, as told to Webb-Rubino. 'We learned to depend on each other which proved to be a critical component in warfare,' Salemi said. He also compared his wartime service to that of soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. 'The difference between World War II and the Vietnam conflict was a matter of trust,' Salemi said. 'While there was brutality with the Japanese, the soldiers knew where and who they were fighting. The Vietnam Conflict was rifled with distrust and high anxiety.' 'The enemy dug tunnels throughout the Vietnam landscape making it nearly impossible for a soldier to know who, when or where the enemy attacks were emanating from,' Salemi said. LIFE AFTER THE WAR Salemi was honorably discharged from the military in 1946. He was awarded several medals for his service: the Good Conduct, World War II Victory, Asiatic Pacific Campaign (with two stars for the New Guinea and Luzon campaigns) along with an Artillery Pin and the Philippine Liberation medals. Not long after his discharge, he married the love of his life, Virginia, in 1949. While he was born on Flag Day, his wife was born on Veteran's Day. The couple enjoyed 37 years together and raised two sons and a daughter. Salemi moved to Massachusetts in 1972 while working for Sylvania Electric Products. He worked in research and development for 39 years through its mergers with GTE which ultimately became Verizon. A 35-year resident of North Attleboro, Salemi remains active in several military organizations and is a former member of the town's Veterans Advisory Board. He is a Past Commander of the North Attleboro Disabled American Veterans Post 56. In 2004, Salemi organized and escorted fellow veterans to the grand opening of the World War II Museum in Washington, D.C. He has also traversed the Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization for veterans to visit memorials built in their honor. He attributes his longevity to three things: Love what you do, don't smoke or drink hard liquor, save for an occasional glass of wine; and good genes. Stories of service are what have inspired Webb-Rubino, who is also a military veteran. She said she joined the Air Force in 1976, becoming its first female Aircraft Mechanic Crew Chief and while at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. In 1999, she founded the 11K road race in Stoneham created to honor and recognize veterans. In 2009, she became the City of Melrose's first female Veterans Service Officer. 'I firmly believe we need to recognize these 'Greatest Generation' men and women as often as we can,' she said. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The proof that older people are getting smarter
Fitter, faster, stronger – and smarter. I'm paraphrasing, but that's how researchers at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently summed up the Baby Boom generation in a recent report on the consequences of global ageing. The developed world may be running out of lithe young things to drive our economies forward as birth rates collapse, but the oldies that remain are brainier than any generation before and can pick up at least some of the slack, it said. The IMF's findings rely on data from 41 advanced and emerging market economies and show that, on average, older people from around the age of 50 are smarter or more cognitively able today than ever before. Moreover, of all the indicators of healthy ageing (better retained agility, flexibility, strength, stamina etc), it is an improvement in our mental capacities that is most marked in the data, says the IMF. 'We aim to offer a new perspective on the old argument that ageing will lead inevitably to slumping economic growth and mounting fiscal pressures', say Bertrand Gruss and Diaa Noureldin, lead authors of the new report. 'When it comes to cognitive capacities, the 70s are indeed the new 50s: A person who was 70 in 2022 had the same cognitive health score as a 53 year old in 2000. Older workers' physical health – such as grip strength and lung capacity – has also improved.' The IMF aren't the only people who have looked at this trend. A 2022 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US shows that when it comes to brain power, Baby Boomers (born between 1946 to 64) beat the Great Generation (1901-27) on all the researchers' key measures of cognition. 'We found better age-adjusted performance in the cognitive domains of processing speed, executive function, attention and verbal fluency in more recent generations compared to the Greatest Generation', said its authors. So why is the world seemingly getting smarter? Professor Axel Börsch-Supan, director of the Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy in Munich, said improvements in education have been key. 'That [Boomers] are smarter is essentially a function of their much better education than earlier generations', he says. 'If you look at the years of schooling, that immensely increased in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean countries, but also in the North and the East.' Education and better nutrition in childhood does not just help preserve good cognition in later years but improves employment prospects. And the longer you stay in employment, with all the mental and social stimulations that brings, the better things are for our brain health. Given the proportion of over 65s participating in the UK labour market has been slowly rising, and has more than doubled since 2000 participation was at 7.8 per cent over the first three months of that year, increasing to 15.7 per cent in 2025), no wonder our mental fire power is improving. Further Department of Work and Pensions data reveals that in the UK, 10 per cent of 70 to 74-year-olds were still in employment in 2024 (up from 5 per cent in 1984) as were over a quarter of 65 to 69s (27.6 per cent, up from 9.5 per cent in 1984). In 2024, the average age of people exiting the workforce hit its highest level since the 1960s (65.7 years old) and its highest level on record for women (at 64.5 years). On June 7 The Oxford University Longevity Project will gather for the Smart Ageing Summit 2025 in Rhodes House in the heart of Oxford. The meeting brings together leading longevity experts and enthusiasts from around the world to explore 'how we can age smarter and better now'. Leading lights include the runner and academic Sir Christopher Ball, 90, the father of the pace maker Professor Denis Noble, 88, and the broadcaster Angela Rippon, 80. Physician Sir Muir Gray, 80, a director of the Longevity Project and a pioneer in the area of evidence-based ageing, said the first thing to grasp about ageing is that 'ageing by itself' is not the problem. Instead 'controllable factors' including loss of fitness (mental and physical) and environmentally-linked disease were the things to look out for. 'The trick to healthy ageing is for all of us to have a plan', says Gray. 'A plan to understand ageing, a plan to regain lost fitness, a plan to reduce the risk of disease striking, a plan to better adapt to your environment… It's knowledge that's the elixir of life. 'In the 12 years since my myocardial infarction [heart attack], I've had 400 boxes of pills and not one prescription of exercise or diet from the NHS. The pills keep me going but it's all the other stuff that keeps me young,' he says. 'All the other stuff' includes the internet – Gray believes it has contributed to gains in cognition by keeping older people engaged with the world. The same applies not just to staying in the labour market for longer, but particularly to career changes – an increasingly common phenomenon that forces us to start over again in our learning and greatly broadens our knowledge and experience. Volunteering has a similar impact. 'Becoming a volunteer is a very good way of reducing your risk of dementia,' says Gray, because, as with staying in the labour market, it allows you to keep yourself 'mentally and physically challenged' by keeping you engaged with society and your local community. The threat of dementia is the perfect reason to heed Gray's call for people to better understand the process of ageing and plan for it. Only around 60 per cent of it is caused by Alzheimer's, leaving 40 per cent linked to behavioural and environmental factors – many of which we can avoid or mitigate. According to Gray, this also includes looking after your vascular heath through regular exercise; a good diet and the avoidance of binge drinking, smoking etc; and protecting the brain tissue from damage 'caused by stress, sleep problems and over medication'. Working has already proved its cognitive worth: a 2020 study by the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation in the US found that American women who had paying jobs as young adults into middle age had slower rates of age-related memory decline than women who didn't, while women who did not have much paid work between the ages of 16 and 50 tended to have faster declines in memory later in life. Medical understanding had also completely changed in a generation, says Gray: 'we know now we can form new neural circuits at any age, whereas doctors who qualified before 2000 were taught that after 20 all that happened was that brain cells died off'. Until recently there has also been prejudice in the medical establishment, says Gray – some of it quite subtle. 'The effects of ageing on intellectual capacity have been greatly exaggerated because researchers have used tests that concentrate on quick decision-making, which does slow with age. But quick decision-making is only needed in pub quizzes and landing planes and [now] AI will do it for you. We actually get better at complex decision making as we live longer. As Oscar Wilde said, 'experience is the name we give our mistakes!'' But while the trend from the Greatest Generation to the Baby Boom generation shows an uptick in brain power, there are important caveats and nuances. Although the IMF points to an average gain in cognition worldwide, there are outliers who are faring less well, particularly in disadvantaged groups among Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980). 'Average health scores are significantly lower for individuals in rural locations, individuals with at most primary education, and lower-wealth households', says the IMF. 'Further analysis reveals that lifestyle factors, such as levels of physical activity, body mass index, and smoking, are significant determinants of the functional capacity of older individuals [even] after age and socioeconomic characteristics are controlled for.' 'The biggest changes in the UK are in the lower [socio economic] groups,' agrees Börsch-Supan. 'There's definitely a social gradient and it has a lot to do with health behaviours, nutrition and the big disaster of cheap prefab food. Look at the pizza which you buy for a pound – they're really bad quality.' In short, the trend can only continue if we don't sit on our laurels. Only those people cycling to work each day, climbing stairs or going to night classes will get a boost in the smart charts. To gain personally, you've got to put in the hard yards (and plenty of fruit and veg) yourself. Still, as the rest of the world continues to get smarter, the Boomer generation are the poster boys: it's why Mick Jagger, 81, and Iggy Pop, 78, are still touring. We just need to be wealthy, clean-living, gainfully employed and well connected to make it last. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
