British Navy vet Bernard Jordan, 90, sneaks out of nursing home to attend D-Day memorial in Normandy

At 90 years old, Bernard Jordan escaped from his British nursing home, boarded a train to France and won the respect and admiration of police officers tasked with tracking him down.

But that's nothing for the British war veteran – he survived D-Day.

A local search for the missing senior became an international celebration of the indomitable spirit on Friday, after Bernard launched a cross-border adventure to participate in the 70th anniversary of the Allies landing in Normandy in WWII.

Gracewell Healthcare, says Jordan disappeared suddenly from the Pines Care Home in Hove, Thursday evening.

According to ITV, East Sussex police were contacted by the nursing home when he went out for a walk and didn't return.

It was later confirmed Jordan had caught a train to Normandy to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Cleverly, the veteran had snuck out of the nursing home in a grey raincoat that concealed a jacket containing his war medals.

Brighton and Hove Police began the great search on Friday when it tweeted out an alert.

Good on him. Many people felt the same way, including the region's police commander and the healthcare centre itself, which had tweeted out images of Jordan from the day he disappeared, as well as an old photo from Jordan in the navy.

According to a blog posted by the healthcare centre in April, Jordan was a lifelong community servant and sat as mayor of Hove from 1995 to 1996. He once even met Margaret Thatcher.

Jordan served in the Royal Navy during WWII, but returned at married his sweetheart, Irene, immediately afterward. He lived in Hove his entire life.

The BBC reported that Jordan usually commemorates the Battle of Normandy in his hometown, but had travelled to Normandy to mark the 50th and 60th anniversaries.

It seems he wasn't about to miss the 70th.

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