101-Year-Old WWII Veteran Commemorates D-Day Anniversary

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: As we’ve mentioned, it was 80 years ago today, in 1944, that Allied forces stormed the beaches here in Normandy to liberate Europe. Now, in 2024, veterans are returning to pay tribute to their fallen comrades and to ensure the world never forgets that sacrifice. As time marches on, the number of those from that greatest generation returning here grows fewer and fewer. But for those who are here, their voices ring louder than ever. Among them, 100-year-old D-Day veteran Jake Larson, who’s taken his message to social media giant TikTok, amassing almost a million followers. I last spoke with Jake here at the 75th anniversary. That was 2019. And today, in the Normandy American Cemetery, we met again.

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AMANPOUR: Jake Larson, it’s great to see you again. It was five years ago we first met here. And now, how old are you?

JAKE LARSON, D-DAY VETERAN: I’m going to be 102 in December.

AMANPOUR: Wow. What is the secret of your health and longevity?

LARSON: I’ll have to say, don’t die.

AMANPOUR: It’s a good one, don’t die. You probably didn’t know whether you would survive 80 years ago today, did you, when you landed on Omaha?

LARSON: God, no. I was afraid of those landmines they put in the beach there. We were getting small arms fire, but I was afraid to step — I’d step on one of those mines. The Germans had — I told you, that time it was a million mines. And when they started taking them out of there, they found one and a half million.

AMANPOUR: Wow. You were one of the lucky ones. Do you remember what it was like when they just — I don’t know, suddenly you find yourself getting out of one of those landing craft, you’re on that beach? Do you remember what it was like?

LARSON: Oh, do — I — like it was yesterday. I got on a landing craft and I had water right up to my chin. He let us out a little bit too far. But he was just a 17-year-old pilot for that boat.

AMANPOUR: Wow. You were all kids?

LARSON: We were all kids, yes.

AMANPOUR: And did you know then what you were fighting for?

LARSON: Oh, definitely. That we knew, every one of us.

AMANPOUR: Tell us.

LARSON: Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler’s ass out of Europe.

AMANPOUR: And you did.

LARSON: And we did. We lost quite a few of — I lost friends. Everybody lost friends. But we were soldiers. We were prepared to give our life.

AMANPOUR: And now, you, obviously a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, and your great grandchildren and your grandchildren are making you into a social media star. You’re on TikTok, Jake, since we last met.

LARSON: I don’t know how that happened.

AMANPOUR: How did it happen?

LARSON: It’s crazy.

AMANPOUR: And you go by Papa Jake. You have an actual name.

LARSON: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And why do you do it?

LARSON: You know, it’s not me, it’s my granddaughter. She said, oh, it’s just a little story telling thing, she says. And I put a couple of your stories on my TikTok. She came back within a week and says, Papa, I’m taking you off of my TikTok. I’m going to put you on your own. I said, you’re opening a can of worms here. Why are you putting me on by myself? She says, because you showed me up on mine. It took me 10 months to get 10,000 viewers. You got that in a week.

AMANPOUR: And how many do you have now?

LARSON: Well, the last time I looked, 800,000. It’s just on the verge of a million.

AMANPOUR: Yes, it is just on the verge of a million. And, Jake, what stories are you telling? What do you want young people to know?

LARSON: I’m telling the stories of my life. And, I — I’m a unique person. When I was 15 years old and my cousin, Chick (ph), was 15 years old, he said, we didn’t have any money. We’re going to high school with no money. So, he said, let’s join the National Guard. I said, we got to be 15 or 18. He says — I said, we’re just 15. He says, let’s go to the armory anyway, and tell them we want to join. And we’ll look them straight in the eye and say — when they say, how old are you? We’ll say, 18, 18. So, we went to the National Guard. And there was a huge captain sitting there. He looked up and said, what can I do for you young men? Young men, see? Wow. And I’m thinking, 18, 18. And he says, what year were you born? Wow. So, I said, 1919, sir. Sign right here. That’s the only thing he asked. We both got into the National Guard at 15.