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Vandals deface memorial for fallen Marine of the Kabul 13 on Fourth of July

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Grief

Vandals deface memorial for fallen Marine of the Kabul 13 on Fourth of July

Rylee McCollum name removed, his shoes stolen and American flag thrown on the ground in Wyoming

Emily Miller
Jul 8, 2022
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Vandals deface memorial for fallen Marine of the Kabul 13 on Fourth of July

www.emilypostnews.com

A memorial rock for fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum in his Wyoming hometown was destroyed by vandals on the Fourth of July. The grieving McCollum family is devasted and want to find the culprits. McCollum, 20, was killed in action in Afghanistan in Aug. 2021.

“I'm saddened, disgusted and disappointed,” Rylee’s eldest sister Cheyenne told me. “To have a memorial of any kind — let alone a hero — destroyed like that is hurtful.”

The rock memorial for Marine Rylee McCollum in Jackson, WY after it was desecrated.

The memorial rock is on a hill on the edge of town of Jackson, WY. The The vandals painted over Rylee’s name with black paint and wrote some illegible words. They stole Rylee’s wrestling shoes and the Marine flag. They pulled out the American flag and left it on the ground.

“It is extremely hurtful and cowardly that someone would do this — especially to leave the American flag in the dirt and take his wrestling shoes —on the Fourth of July, of all days,” Rylee’s older sister Roice McCollum said in an interview.

Jim, Cheyenne and Roice McCollum at the first “Liberty Parade” on the Fourth of July. Jim was the Grand Marshal to honor his Marine son.

Rylee and 12 other service members were killed by an ISIS-K terrorist attack on Kabul Airport during the bungled withdrawal of U.S. forces. His wife Gigi was eight months pregnant when he died.

Twitter avatar for @emilymiller
Emily Miller @emilymiller
The wife of Lance Cpl Rylee McCollum, the 20-year-old Marine killed in at Kabul airport on Augh. 26, gave birth yesterday to their daughter, per Wyoming @SenJohnBarrasso. God bless her.
4:46 PM ∙ Sep 14, 2021
465Likes95Retweets

The rock on the edge of town has been used as a memorial for years to acknowledge young Jackson kids who have died. The McCollums have never seen it be defaced before this.

“The amount of effort for them to hike to this rock in the middle of the night with cans of spray paint and continue with their actions shows the kind of person they are,” said Roice. “They had many opportunities to realize what they were doing was wrong and to turn around.”

The memorial rock before the vandals hit it.

I called the Jackson Police Department on Thursdsy and asked if there would be an investigation. They were not aware of the issue (the McCollums did not report it.)

Then I spoke with Teton County Sheriff Deputy Cody Wright who said what happened to Rylee’s memorial is “obviously very immoral.” Deputy Wright said he would “definitely like to know who did it” and would look into the matter.

It’s unclear if any laws were broken since items left on public property are considered abandoned.

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The red pin shows where the rock is located on the edge of town.

The memorial was destroyed sometime between Sunday night and early Monday, July 4. It happened while the McCollums were in Rock Springs, WY for the first “Liberty Parade.” Rylee’s father Jim was the Grand Marshal of the inaugural parade to honor military sacrifice.

The Wyoming News reported that thousands of people attended and paused in the middle of the parade for a moment of silence while “Taps” played to remember the fallen.

Twitter avatar for @emilymiller
Emily Miller @emilymiller
Today would have been fallen Marine Rylee McCollum’s 21st birthday. He was killed in action in Afghanistan exactly six months ago. His wife Gigi gave birth to their daughter 5 months ago. #Saytheirnames
emilypostnews.comSix Months of Grief: The Gold Star families of the 13 killed in the Kabul Airport attackIn their own words, the pain from making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan
12:37 AM ∙ Feb 27, 2022
47Likes13Retweets

The McCullum family repainted the rock this week (see the photo below) and added “13” to remember the others who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom less than 10 months ago. But still they’ve lost a piece of Rylee.

“If someone knows something, please reach out. And we would like the wrestling shoe returned,” said Cheyenne.

Roice added, “We just ask his wrestling shoes be returned.”

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The memorial rock now has been repainted and the flags put back by the McCollums.

Rylee’s father, Jim McCollum, wrote this poem on Facebook about the vandalism of his son’s memorial:

A simple rock on a hillside

A little south of town

A makeshift memorial, created by friends

For many, had become sacred ground

A friend, a son, a brother, a husband

The father of Levi Rylee Rose

A fallen Marine

One of the US13

A story that America knows

Independence Day in Wyoming

Celebrating 246 years

The proud and the Patriotic

Stand angry and ashamed,

Fighting back tears

The memory of the fallen, desecrated

A beautiful memorial left ugly and black

In the dark of the night

To hide their identity

A monumental POS made their attack

Two flags now lay on the soil

The Marine colors and

The Red, White, and Blue

Gone is the solemn remembrance

Taken with it,

His wrestling shoes

I'm mad

I'm pissed and

I'm angry

I don't want this shit in my town

A cowards attack in the blanket of darkness

A memorial tainted and flags on the ground

Wykid

If you know anything about who vandalized the memorial and the location of Rylee’s missing shoes, please leave a comment below, or contact the McCollums on their social media accounts, or call the Teton County Sheriff’s Office at (307) 733-2331.

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Vandals deface memorial for fallen Marine of the Kabul 13 on Fourth of July

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John Derek Ginsberg
Jul 8, 2022Liked by Emily Miller

This makes me really angry. Expressions of contempt for us, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and others of the Armed Forces of the United States, are expressions of ingratitude for our safeguarding the very rights and freedoms the people of the United States possess that are paid for with our lives, our bodies, and our treasures. It is behavior such as this that makes it a challenge to recruit other people to take on the responsibility of safeguarding the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. I could contemplate the consequences that the miscreants should endure. Perhaps sending them to the combat zones using Selective Service, with the intent that they become fodder for the opponents of the United States

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Arun Sudama
(Banned)
Jul 8, 2022Liked by Emily Miller

We live in a time where civility is lost. I’m a bit sad after reading this.

I’ve been following along and being an empathetic person, I understand the family’s feelings of loss and grief. There is line from ‘Saving Private Ryan’ that I remember, something to the effect of being hopeful that time assuages your grief.

I imagine having to confront the vandalism rips the scar open anew and brings the anguish right back.

If I could talk to the family, I’d only remind them we aren’t all that way. Only people who with small minds act like this & to not let ignorance rob them of the heroism that runs in their blood.

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