Widow of Marine Killed in Kabul Has Baby Girl

2 fundraisers have brought in more than $900K after death of Rylee McCollum
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2021 1:11 PM CDT
Updated Sep 16, 2021 8:41 AM CDT
Donors Come Through for Widow, Unborn Child of Marine
This undated photo released by the 1st Marine Division shows Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.   (U.S. Marines via AP)

Update: The widow of one of the Marines killed in last month's suicide bombing at the Kabul airport has given birth to a baby girl. Jiennah Crayton, widow of 20-year-old Rylee McCollum. gave birth to Levi Rylee Rose McCollum Monday at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif., per the AP. Both are doing well. Separate online fundraisers for her and the child (here and here) have raised more than $900,000. Our original story from August follows:

Americans are stepping up for the widow and unborn child of one of the Marines killed last week in Afghanistan. Two separate fundraisers on behalf of the late Rylee McCollum of Wyoming have raised more than $850,000. The 20-year-old's wife, Jiennah, is in her third trimester. One GoFundMe account, specifically for the child expected to arrive this month, had raised more than $630,000 as of Thursday, reports People. The second GoFundMe account is for Jiennah and was set up by her mother. McCollum's "sacrifice ... will not be forgotten," the description of the first fundraiser reads. "Anything you can provide to aid them would be appreciated more than we can express. Bless."

A clothing company called the Breach Supply set up the first fundraiser for McCollum, who had been on his first-ever deployment. He was manning a checkpoint near the airport in Kabul when a suicide bomber killed him, 12 other service members, and more than 100 civilians, per the AP. "My heart is incredibly heavy today, in the wee hours of the morning my beautiful daughter got that knock on her door that no military spouse wants to get," Jill Crayton wrote on the fundraiser for her daughter. "Her strong, handsome, incredibly brave husband of less than a year was one of the 13 Marines that gave his life yesterday in Kabul." (More uplifting news stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X