D-Day TikToker Papa Jake, 101, meets Joe Biden on 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings after flying in on private jet

World War II veteran and TikToker Papa Jake met President Joe Biden today on the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings after flying in on a private jet.

The 101-year-old, whose real name is Jake M. Larson, was one of several scarred soldiers honored during celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings that contributed to the defeat of Adolf Hitler.

Born in Owatonna, Minnesota, Larson enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lied about his age when he was just 15 and fought on Omaha Beach in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.

In recent years, the veteran has set up his own TikTok channel under the name @story time with papaya with help from his granddaughter, McKaela, and shares photos and stories from the war.

A week ago, he shared a video of himself boarding a private jet to head to Normandy, France for the celebration, telling his more than 800,000 followers that it was his first time on such a plane.

A week ago, he shared a video of himself boarding a private jet to head to Normandy, France, for the celebration, telling his 800,000 followers that it was his first time on such a plane.

Dressed in an American flag tie and a U.S. Army shirt, he jubilantly called the trip a “great day in his life” and said he was “blessed.”

Fans of Papa Jake saw him give him an enthusiastic thumbs up just before the plane took off from Oakland International Airport.

During today’s festivities, Larson said: ‘I’m a ‘here-to’. People say: what is a here-to? I’m saying I’m here to tell you I’m not a hero. It’s those guys over there who gave their lives so I could survive. That’s what a here-to is.

“How is it possible that I made it through five fights and on top of that ended up on Omaha Beach without a scratch?” Say there is a God. God just protected me.

“I’m lucky to be alive, beyond lucky,” said the veteran, who now lives in Lafayette, California.

Jake M. Larson is depicted during his younger years, before fighting in World War II

Fans of Papa Jake saw him give him an enthusiastic thumbs up just before the plane took off from Oakland International Airport

Larson, 101, arrives at Deauville Airport from Atlanta to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings in Deauville, Normandy

After the ceremony, attended by King Charles III, Prince William, FLOTUS Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, Biden met Larson and thanked him for his services.

Larson had joined the National Guard at the age of 15 – more than 80 years ago – and had taken part in the battle on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, bringing together “land, air and naval forces.” for the ‘greatest invasion in human history’ – also known as D-Day.

He stormed Omaha Beach — one of five areas of German-occupied France invaded by American, Canadian and British forces on D-Day — and even helped with the “top secret planning of the invasion,” according to McKaela. .

According to Jake – who is now the only remaining member of his unit – they came to the beach by ship, but immediately ran into problems because there were so many people and not enough room for everyone.

“We had to come down on these rope ladders with our 75-pound rifle in hand. When I got on these landing craft, I was the first one down there,” he recalled in a video.

“I thought we were going to Omaha Beach and landing. Instead, they struggled with the number of people they already had, there wasn’t enough room, and they couldn’t get over the cliff to catch anything or make room for us.

“So we walked around in circles, waiting for the message. They were prepared to call off the invasion because the firepower was too great.”

He helped storm Omaha Beach on D-Day – one of five areas of German-occupied France invaded by American, Canadian and British forces.

Larson visits graves at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer

And it didn’t get any easier when they finally reached land. Jake said holes had to be dug for them to hide and shelter in, but the Air Force had “completely missed” Omaha Beach, so there was “no protection” for them.

“I stood behind a small hole that was six inches high, where two machine guns were shooting at me from two sides,” he explained.

‘Water came in up to my chin. I turned around and there was another soldier less than half a meter behind me.

“I said, ‘Hey, got a match, buddy?’ I didn’t get an answer. I had just looked at him, but the next time I looked there was no head under the helmet.

“I thank the soul of that soldier for letting me run when I did, because the machine guns of the (enemy) soldiers had stopped to reload and I started running.

According to McKaela, who is from California, her grandfather lied about his age as a teenager so he could join the U.S. Army at age 15. He is depicted in the army.

‘I (thought) “What the hell are you doing here, Jake?” You can’t shoot anyone, you can’t see them, but they can see you. What a predicament. But I made it, I made it to the cliff without a scratch.”

In a follow-up video, Jake explained that when night fell after the invasion, he was told to keep watch all night.

“At twelve o’clock that night German planes came in and dropped little flares and lit up the beach like daylight and took pictures,” he said. “Our planes started firing at them, but after a while everything became quiet.”

Jake revealed that the bed he was supposed to sleep in that night had been hit by a piece of metal from the plane, so if he hadn’t been tasked with keeping watch, he might have died.

After the end of the war he also wrote a book about his experiences entitled ‘The Happiest Man in the World’ and has stolen the hearts of many people on the internet, with some labeling him as a ‘legend’ and a ‘hero’ for his ‘courage’ and ‘strength’.