Welsh Slate Plaque For Brave American Soldier
Alun Howells whilst serving in the 1st Battalion, 64th Armoured Regiment, was 20 years old when he was killed in Baghdad on the 13th of August 2007.He was leading a patrol through the streets of Baghdad when his vehicle was hit by an armour piercing grenade which killed him instantly.
Alun had said that if he pa
id the ultimate sacrifice he wanted to be cremated and his ashes scattered near where I grew up "in a wild place above the sea". As the family was brought up in Porthmadog his ashes were spread on a headland at Borth y Gest.
Alun was known as "The Welshman" amongst his army friends so Gwyn and Jaena his parents commissioned a Welsh slate plaque from Inigo Jones.
The plaque was engraved with his name on, and a Welsh dragon and Gwyn and Jaena collected it when they were visiting the Porthmadog area in the spring of 2010. The plaque was taken to Georgia and placed under Alun's tree in March 2011.
