Young dad-to-be was among 13 US troops killed in Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum was a young husband with a child on the way. He was one of the Marines who died Thursday in an attack in Afghanistan.

Rylee McCollum’s sister told The Associated Press that her brother and his wife were expecting a child in three weeks.

“He was so excited to be a dad, and he was going to be a great dad,” Cheyenne McCollum told The Associated Press.

Roice McCollum, Rylee’s older sister told the Casper Star-Tribune that her brother was first deployed to Afghanistan to help with the evacuations.

“Rylee will always be a hero, not just for the ultimate sacrifice he made for our country, but for the way he impacted every life around him for the better. Making us stronger, kinder, teaching us to love deeper,” she said.

Thirteen U.S. troops and dozens more Afghans were killed in Thursday’s attack.

Cpl. Daegan Page was identified as one of the other victims. He was raised in Red Oak, Iowa. His family says he was only 23 years old.

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