{"id":74453,"date":"2023-06-06T19:15:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T19:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:44:50","slug":"papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France \u2014 World War II veteran Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake,\u201d enjoyed giving hugs to the many fans he met during his trip to Normandy for D-Day commemorations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, attended a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2023\/06\/05\/world-war-ii-veterans-return-to-utah-beach-to-mark-d-day-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\">ceremony on Tuesday at the American Cemetery<\/a> marking the 79th anniversary of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2023\/06\/05\/lets-debunk-the-3-biggest-myths-of-d-day\/\" target=\"_blank\">the assault<\/a> that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI got in on the planning of D-Day &#8230; I\u2019m just a country boy. Now I\u2019m a star on TikTok,\u201d he told The Associated Press with enthusiasm. \u201cYou can see me all over: \u2018Papa Jake.\u2019 I\u2019m a legend! I didn\u2019t plan this, it came about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5448\" height=\"3634\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"World War II veteran Jake Larson attends a ceremony to mark the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control, at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.\" class=\"wp-image-107298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg 5448w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23157518754321.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5448px) 100vw, 5448px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">World War II veteran Jake Larson attends a ceremony to mark the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control, at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (Thomas Padilla\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m 100 without an ache or a pain. You can\u2019t fake that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, Larson went to the Pegasus Memorial, a site commemorating a key D-Day operation, when troops had to take control of a strategic bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s where he met Bill Gladden, a 99-year-old British veteran : \u201cI want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,\u201d Larson told Gladden, their hands clasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also went Sunday into a parade alongside other U.S. veterans, using wheelchairs, at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6, 1944.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At every stop on his Normandy trip, \u201cPapa Jake\u201d was greeted by people asking for a selfie \u2014 in return, he offered up a big hug, to their greatest joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several French followers posted comments on his TikTok account to tell their emotion at seeing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jake Larson was born in Owatonna, Minnesota. He enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lying about his age since he was only 15 years old at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In January 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland. He became operations sergeant and assembled the planning books for the invasion of Normandy. After D-Day, he continued this duty through the Battle of the Bulge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Larson was in Normandy with a group of more than 40 U.S. veterans who traveled with the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps them visit former battlefields.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,19],"tags":[8456],"coauthors":[1355],"class_list":["post-74453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","tag-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZSZ3VT73RBCBRH3GRIHTYIMYRQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star. - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star.\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 442,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"keywords\": [\n\t                \"veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star. - Navy Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/06\\\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star.\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star. - Navy Times","description":"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star.","og_description":"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00","author":"The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star.","datePublished":"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/"},"wordCount":442,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg","keywords":["veterans"],"articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/","name":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star. - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-06T19:15:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-18T20:44:50+00:00","description":"World War II veteran Jake Larson is best known on social media under the name \u201cPapa Jake.\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/06\/06\/papa-jake-survived-d-day-on-omaha-beach-now-hes-a-tiktok-star\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Papa Jake survived D-Day on Omaha Beach. Now he\u2019s a TikTok star."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23155501950260.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74474,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74453\/revisions\/74474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74453"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=74453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}