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A British soldier badly injured in an IRA bus attack has paid tribute to those who helped him, as he revisited the scene for the first time.<\/p>\nA British soldier badly injured in an IRA bus attack has paid tribute to those who helped him, as he revisited the scene for the first time.<\/p>\n
Eight servicemen were killed in the Ballygawley bombing in Co Tyrone in 1988.<\/p>\n
Members of the Light Infantry Regiment, from England, were returning to a base near Omagh after a short holiday.<\/p>\n
Dave Hardy was among the 28 injured, and he suffered broken bones and a brain injury.<\/p>\n
On the eve of Remembrance Sunday, a special gathering was held in Omagh.<\/p>\n
Mr Hardy said: \u201cI am asking questions and getting answers that I have never been able to get before, like how did I get to hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very happy that I was not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The IRA set off a 200-pound roadside Semtex bomb as the bus was travelling between Ballygawley and Omagh.<\/p>\n
Members of the Omagh Protestant Boys Band returning from a parade were among the first at the scene and tried to resuscitate soldiers, who were lying on the road.<\/p>\n
Mr Hardy, 53, from Durham, was trying to sleep on the bus and the first thing the then private remembers is lying on the road unable to get up, but no pain.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI heard crying, it was the horrible, stomach-wrenching cry of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was in hospital in a coma for a month or more and underwent rehabilitation in Surrey before being medically discharged from the Army.<\/p>\n
He said he had been suppressing emotion associated with the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a weird sensation, there is no emotion, I think it could be just a defense mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members of the public, including nearby residents and two flute bands who were travelling on the road, comforted the wounded until emergency services arrived.<\/p>\n
Mr Hardy was taken to hospital in nearby Dungannon in one of the first ambulances.<\/p>\n
He recalled seeing a bright light.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone walked out and said everything is going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n