Baby girl born to widow of Marine killed in Kabul bombing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The widow of a U.S. Marine killed in a bombing in Afghanistan in August has given birth to a baby girl.

Levi Rylee Rose McCollum was born early Monday at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif., according to a Facebook post by the baby’s grandmother, Jill Miller Crayton.

The 8-pound, 10-ounce girl was born in a “lightning quick” delivery and doing well, according to Crayton’s Monday evening post.

Crayton is the mother of Jiennah Crayton, who is the widow of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Bondurant, Wyo. McCollum was among 13 U.S. soldiers killed in the suicide bombing Aug. 26 at the Kabul airport.

Several online fundraising efforts as of Wednesday had raised about $1 million for the baby’s education and for her mother.

McCollum grew up in western Wyoming’s Jackson Hole area. Relatives said McCollum played with toy rifles as a toddler and was interested from an early age in becoming a soldier.

He was a high school wrestler known for working hard, even before Marine training.

Hundreds of people lined the streets in Jackson, Wyoming, last Friday when McCollum’s remains returned home from Afghanistan. Law enforcement saluted as the hearse passed.

McCollum was killed on his first deployment.