A 100-year-old World War II veteran returned home to Minnesota for a special event.

Jake Larson was honored Tuesday at the Steele County Fair.

“This is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Larson said. “Never did I think I would be able to come back.”

Larson grew up in Hope, Minnesota, and now lives in California. While serving in the Army, Larson fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the D-Day invasion.

“I landed on D-Day with water up to here,” Larson said. “I was more afraid of stepping on a land mine. There was one million mines that we had to walk through and they shooting at us over the top. Somebody up there loves me. I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

Larson is known as “Papa Jake” online. The centenarian has more than 600,000 followers who watch him tell war stories on TikTok.