Please welcome new member Jake Larson to the Battle of the Bulge Association!
Jake is 97 years old and loves going to The Bagel Street Cafe in Martinez, CA every morning. It is the highlight of his day. He’s had this routine for approximately 20 years now. Local residents will drop in and pull up a chair and join him for coffee and conversation. Everyone in town seems to knows Jake. He definitely has a fan club. He can still tell a great story and he has a great sense of humor. Jake loves children. He gives a quarter to any child who comes in so they can try their luck at the gumball machine. If they get a green gumball, the storeowner gives them 6 free bagels! The children run to him and give him hugs and kisses – especially when they can give their parents 6 bagels!
I learned of Jake through the local coordinator of the Honor Flights. I took the opportunity to join Jake at Bagel Street in January. I saw him in action. It was amazing. He welcomed me into his ‘club.’ I met some of his ‘fans.’ Very nice people.
A little background about Jake:Jake was born on a farm in Hope, MN (population 100) in December, 1922. The town had a creamery, a bank, two small grocery stores, a post office, pool hall with a bar and a few houses. He said he was ‘born a farmer.’ He had to travel 14 miles to school in Owatonna, MN. He started high school at age 12. He entered the National Guard in 1938 at age 15 to earn a little money (he earned $12 every 3 months). This helped him earn his room and board where he was living while going to school. He and his buddy lied about their ages (the required age at that time was 18). He had “Guard” every Monday night for 2 hours during his high school years and graduated in 1940 at age 17. He continued in the National Guard (34th Inf. Div, 135th Inf. Rgt) after graduation. On 10 Feb 1941, the National Guard became the US Army. On 7 Dec 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. At that time, Corporal Jake was a company clerk at Camp Claiborne, LA with the anticipation of being discharged in Jan 1942. Needless to say, his luck changed because of the attack.
After returning from a furlough, his commanding officer assigned him to the ‘wire section’ (climbing poles and stringing wires) and he was sent to Ft. Dix, NJ to await overseas transportation. He left the US on the Aquitannia around March 1942 and arrived to Belfast, Scotland. From there, he was transferred to Londonberry on a small ship and eventually arrived to Armaugh and then to Lurgan, Ireland (where the V Corps was located). The 34th Division became under the command of the V Corps. They recognized his talents and assigned him to G3 (plans and training). Eventually, he advanced to become an Operations Sergeant. He went to Bristol and then to Tautan, England and was there for about a year. He was chosen by a Colonel to accompany him to Portsmouth, England to take part in planning the invasion of Normandy. He advanced to the rank of a Sergeant in the V Corps. The First Army returned from Africa and took over the V Corps. Before he realized it, he was in training again with the First Army in Slapton Sands and as part of his training, arrived on a LST (Landing Ship Tank) in a ‘mock invasion’ and nearly lost his life because two German E boats found out about the practice invasion. Two of the LSTs (carrying 795 soldiers) were annihilated and Jake’s LST made it through but barely. This mock invasion was just one month before D-Day.
The First Army was in charge of the invasion of Omaha and Utah Beaches. The V Corps invaded Omaha Beach and Jake was involved in this invasion. He had many close calls during his service which included the Battle of the Bulge. He promises to share stories with me in the future. In fact, he is working with an author on his book that will be titled “The Luckiest Man in The World.” The book will be available later this year.
He was quite the traveler in 2019. He went to Europe in June for the D-Day Anniversary and in December for the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. He also took an Honor Flight in September 2019 with his grandson Daniel Moldovan. He enjoyed every trip. He holds fond memories of the warm welcome that he received in Europe and when he returned from the Honor Flight. He said ‘I’m not a ‘hero’ – I’m ‘here to’ tell you my story and honor all of those men and women who didn’t return.
If you’d like to welcome Jake, feel free to send him an email at karlan11@rocketmail.com.
Submitted by Doris Davis, President of the Battle of the Bulge, Golden Gate Chapter (pictured above with Jake)
