The baby who will never meet her hero dad: Wife of US Marine killed in Kabul blast gives birth to little girl and names her 'Rylee' after her fallen father
The wife of one of the 13 fallen US soldiers killed in the Kabul suicide bombing has given birth to the late Marine's daughter and named her after her father, who she will never meet.
Rylee McCollum, 20, was killed in the ISIS-K blast in Afghanistan on August 26 and was survived by his then-pregnant wife Jiennah Crayton, who goes by Gigi.
Nearly three weeks later she has given birth to the couple's baby - a girl named Levi Rylee Rose in honor of her father.
Crayton announced Levi's birth in a Facebook post with photos captioned: 'Welcome to the world my sweet baby, I love you with my whole heart.'
Jiennah Crayton, who goes by Gigi (pictured with newborn daughter) - the wife of one of the 13 fallen US soldiers killed in the Kabul suicide bombing - has given birth to late Marine Rylee McCollum's daughter and named her after her father, who she will never meet
McCollum was sent to Afghanistan as evacuations started and was believed to have been killed while manning an airport checkpoint at the time of the suicide bombing
Nearly three weeks after McCollum was killed in the ISIS-K blast in Afghanistan Gigi gave birth to the couple's daughter and named her Levi Rylee Rose in honor of her father
In the photos Levi - who was born on Monday weighing eight pounds and 10 ounces - was pictured in her crib with a pillow of her late father in his military uniform.
Sadly, the baby girl will never get to meet her father, who was due home from his deployment in October.
In another post after Levi's birth, Crayton wrote her day-old daughter a poem which read: 'When you came into the world / Hold onto your mama / She's needing you right now.
Your daddy / He's watching over you.'
McCollum was sent to Afghanistan as evacuations started and was believed to have been killed while manning an airport checkpoint at the time of the suicide bombing.
The ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 183 people at Kabul airport.
McCollum, who graduated from Jackson Hole High School in Wyoming in 2019 before joining the US Marine Corps, had married Gigi in February of this year when the couple eloped in Vegas.
In a Facebook post after Levi's birth, Crayton wrote her day-old daughter a poem
McCollum married Gigi in February of this year when the couple eloped in Vegas
Crayton announced Levi's birth in a Facebook post with photos captioned: 'Welcome to the world my sweet baby, I love you with my whole heart'
Cryaton's mother, Jill Miller Crayton, said her 20-year-old daughter was 'crushed' after learning the heartbreaking news.
Sadly, Jill never got the chance to meet her son-in-law but was excited by how happy and in love the couple appeared even from a distance.
'I didn't get to know him, I didn't even get to meet him but I do know that she was madly in love with him. He was her everything her future and her best friend,' she shared.
'I couldn't wait to meet him, he made her so incredibly happy. I hadn't known her to be so happy until she married him and found out she was pregnant. It was like she was complete.'
The soon-to-be grandmother continued: 'I was so proud of him, I was incredibly proud of him because he was a Marine who served his country but I was even more proud of him for the respect and the love that he showed my daughter.'
Cryaton's mother, Jill Miller Crayton, said her 20-year-old daughter was 'crushed' after learning the heartbreaking news
Jill said: 'I couldn't wait to meet him, he made her so incredibly happy. I hadn't known her to be so happy until she married him and found out she was pregnant. It was like she was complete'
While many have attacked the Biden Administration for their poor coordination in withdrawing and evacuating Afghanistan, Jill believes that now is 'not a time for finger-pointing'
Unfortunately Jill can relate all to well to her daughter's devastating situation.
'My husband died when I was nine weeks pregnant with Gigi's brother, 15 years ago, and unfortunately history is repeating itself,' she said.
'I never thought one of my daughters would go through what I did, it's unreal and it's awful.
'They met while he was in the military, I don't know exactly how long they had been dating. I moved from San Diego two years ago, we had lived there our whole lives.'
While many have attacked the Biden Administration for their poor coordination in withdrawing and evacuating Afghanistan, Jill believes that now is 'not a time for finger-pointing'.
She does not want politics to be the focus of her son-in-law's death.
'He was a beautiful handsome man, a young man who had his whole life in front of him, who loved my daughter and was about to be a father. That's what I focus on.'
