Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France in WWII.

To mark the anniversary, some Minnesotans are among a group of WWII veterans who are traveling thousands of miles to return to those historic beaches.

Jake Larson, who was born in Owatonna, is one of them.

Just 15 when he enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, Larson had to lie about his age to join the service. Then, in 1942, he was sent overseas, and was stationed in Northern Ireland.

He landed on Omaha Beach in 1944 and was among those who ran under machine gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded. He calls himself the luckiest man in the world.

“You will never find another guy that can say he ran Omaha Beach at night. I’m it,” Larson said. “How is it possible that I went through five battles, plus landing on Omaha Beach, without getting a scratch. I say there is a God.”

Now 101 years old, Larson adds that he’s “not the hero.”

“It’s those guys up there that gave their life so that I could make it through,” he said.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS previously spoke with Larson last summer when he was honored at the Steele County Fair. Larson also has a large following on social media under the name “Papa Jake.”