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Tales of Leadership Podcast Series
Discover transformative content to enhance your leadership, inspire others, and champion hard rights over easy wrongs. Together, let's uncover stories, insights, and strategies to elevate your leadership capacity at any stage.
#100 Jake Larson "Papa Jake" - WWII Veteran
In this powerful episode of Tales of Leadership, I sit down with Jake Larson—affectionately known as “Papa Jake”—a 102-year-old World War II veteran and national treasure whose story has captivated millions across the world.
Born during the Great Depression and raised on a farm in rural Minnesota, Jake’s journey took him from poverty to the front lines of history. At just 15 years old, he joined the National Guard by lying about his age. That bold decision would place him on the path to help plan the D-Day invasion as part of G3 Operations. Armed with a skill most overlooked—typing—Jake was responsible for processing the very orders that sent thousands of men onto Omaha Beach, including himself.