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Video length: 3 min
80 years of the D-Day landings: “Papa Jake”, an American veteran returning to Omaha Beach
Monday June 3, an American veteran will be particularly expected. “Papa Jake” was 21 years old on June 6, 1944. At 101, he’s back. His grandchildren have appealed to the new generation by registering him on social networks, where he has 800,000 subscribers.
(France 2)
Monday June 3, an American veteran will be particularly expected. “Papa Jake” was 21 years old on June 6, 1944. At 101, he’s back. His grandchildren have appealed to the new generation by registering him on social networks, where he has 800,000 subscribers.
80 years ago, Jake Larson participated in the Liberation of France. Today, despite the hand trembling a little, the emotion is still just as intense. In his family home in California, he has forgotten nothing: his enlistment at age 15 in the National Guard, then his enlistment in the infantry. And that morning of June 6, 1944 when he landed in the fury of Omaha Beach. “We got off the barges and the water was up to our chins. We knew the beach was mined by the Germans. It was terrible.”he remembers.
Jake Larson takes cover behind a tiny stone, and suddenly wants a cigarette. He asks a soldier for a match before realizing he is dead. “At that moment, I felt like the spirit of that soldier was speaking to me and saying, ‘Get up right now and get out.’, he describes. The veteran wanted to tell his story to his entire family, who shared his memories on social networks. “Papa Jake” has over 800,000 followers on TikTok. In a few days, Jake Larson will once again set foot on the sand of Omaha Beach to pay tribute to those who are, according to him, the true heroes: his comrades who fell for France.
