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		</div><p>Second World War veteran Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American best known on social media under the name Papa Jake, enjoyed giving hugs to the many fans he met during his trip to Normandy for D-Day commemorations.</p>
<p>Mr Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, attended a ceremony on Tuesday at the American Cemetery marking the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.</p>
<p>“I got in on the planning of D-Day … I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok,” he told The Associated Press with enthusiasm.</p>
<p>“You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”</p>
<p>Mr Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded.</p>
<p>“I’m 100 without an ache or a pain. You can’t fake that,” he said.</p>
<p>On Monday, Mr 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>
<p>That is where he met Bill Gladden, a 99-year-old British veteran.</p>
<p>“I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,” Mr Larson told Mr Gladden, their hands clasped.</p>
<p>He also went on Sunday into a parade alongside other US veterans, using wheelchairs, at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6 1944.</p>
<p>At every stop on his Normandy trip, Papa Jake was greeted by people asking for a selfie – in return, he offered a big hug, to their joy.</p>
<p>Several French followers posted comments on his TikTok account to tell of their emotion at seeing him.</p>
<p>Mr Larson was born in Owatonna, Minnesota.</p>
<p>He enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lying about his age since he was only 15 years old at the time.</p>
<p>In January 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland.</p>
<p>He became operations sergeant and assembled the planning books for the invasion of Normandy.</p>
<p>After D-Day, he continued this duty through the Battle of the Bulge.</p>
<p>Mr Larson was in Normandy with a group of more than 40 US veterans who travelled with the Best Defence Foundation, a non-profit organisation that helps them visit former battlefields.</p>
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