WCCO marks D-Day's 80th anniversary in France
NORMANDY, France — This week marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, a turning point in World War II that helped bring victory to the allies in Europe.
And all week on WCCO, we'll be sharing stories from that day as reporter John Lauritsen and photojournalist Tom Aviles make their way through France, experiencing history along the way.
Some of the Minnesota veterans we will be featuring at Normandy are more than 100 years old, and another veteran we'll highlight never made it home from the war.
Papa Jake Larson
Well before Papa Jake Larson's granddaughter made him a TikTok star, he helped plan the D-Day invasion. Growing up in Hope Township, Minnesota, Larson learned to type. So while American military minds were making their plans, he was typing them.
"Every person that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day came through these fingers, these fingers I'm showing you right now typed their name," Larson said.
Now at the age of 101, Papa Jake is returning to Normandy once again to honor his fellow American veterans.
"I want people to know what I've felt and what I've gone through," Larson said.
Les Schrenk
At 100 years old, Long Prairie native Les Schrenk will make his first trip to Normandy.
"I enlisted because my brother was in the Air Force, and naturally I wanted to be in the Air Force," Schrenk said.
His B-17 was shot down by a German pilot just weeks before D-Day, and he spent the Allied invasion in a POW camp.
"I can still remember that interrogation was terrible. They had you in this great, big room. You had no idea what to expect. In the background, you heard all kinds of cries for help," Schrenk said.
Now, Schrenk wants to pay respects to his fellow soldiers and recognize what they went through at Omaha Beach.
"Why not go to Normandy? That's one place I haven't been," Schrenk said.
Virgil Tangborn
Virgil Tangborn was at Normandy, but eight days after he arrived he was killed by Germans while trying to save a fellow soldier.
Academy of Holy Angels history teacher Steve Werle centers his World War II studies around the life of the young soldier from Nary, Minnesota, using Tangborn's personal journal to teach his students.
"I love history, but part of the reason I teach is so that guys like Virgil have a voice and people will know their stories," Werle said.
Overseas in France, there's a statue in Tangborn's honor, and it stands just miles from his final resting place.
"I remember interviewing for a job here about 23 years ago, and they asked me what the most powerful lesson was I ever taught. And the first thing that came to my mind was Virgil," Werle said.
To read Tangborn's full story, click here or watch it on WCCO's YouTube page.
To read Schrenk's full story, click here or watch it on WCCO's YouTube page.
Look for more on these stories all week long on WCCO 4 News at 10, and also streaming on CBS News Minnesota.