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 WW2.

In 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 added.

She 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 app.

He also served in the US Army at the Battle of the Bulge in WW2.

Before 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.