World War II veteran, internet sensation 'Papa Jake' celebrates 102nd birthday

CONCORD, Calif. (KRON) – Friday marked a big birthday today for a local World War II veteran. “Papa Jake” is 102 years old.

He’s a viral sensation online, known for sharing stories of positivity. This year, he received hundreds of birthday cards from people in nearly every country across the world. 

Family and friends gathered for Jake Larson’s birthday party Friday night in Concord. 

"It’s hard to believe, to describe, because I don't think I deserve all this,” he said. 

Papa Jake has nearly 900,000 followers on TikTok. He went viral back in 2020 after his granddaughter McKaela started posting videos of him. People quickly fell in love with his stories.

"It went viral. Next thing you know people are like ‘We want videos of Papa Jake.’ The love that he receives, every amount of it he truly deserves it,” McKaela said. 

The internet fame has led Papa Jake to a lot of opportunities in the last four years, including meeting two presidents and getting to explore Disneyland for the first time. 

On Papa Jake’s 99th birthday, McKaela started asking social media followers to send him birthday cards, and people wrote him from all over the world.

"A little farm boy from Hope, Minnesota known all over the world? I get correspondence with South Africa! It's crazy,” he said. 

But this year the response was record-breaking, with more than 600 letters. And even on his birthday, he still pays tribute to fallen soldiers.

"Remember those guys who gave their lives so I could be here and talk to you,” he said. 

McKaela is going to surprise Papa Jake with the hundreds of letters this weekend, so he’ll get to continue celebrating. We will see which celebrities wrote him, then he will send back thank you cards so people know how much he appreciates their support.