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PA Teenage Twin Dies During National Guard Training

A 17-year-old died from Pennsylvania who was training for the Army National Guard along with her twin sister, collapsed and died in South Carolina, authorities say.

Brianna and Alyssa Cahoon at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.

Brianna and Alyssa Cahoon at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.

Photo Credit: Facebook/1st Battalion 34th Regiment - Always Forward!

Pvt. Alyssa Cahoon, of Forest City, collapsed after collapsing during physical training at Fort Jackson on Thursday, August 20, according to official army statements. 

She was transported by Fort Jackson Emergency Medical Services to a hospital off-base where died five days later.

Cahoon and her twin sister, Brianna, were training as 42A human resource specialists.

"How cool is it that they get to go through Basic Combat Training together?! They qualified on their rifles with Back-up Iron Sights today!" 1st Battalion 34th Infantry Regiment captioned Facebook pictures of the sisters in training.

The girls' mother, Susan Cahoon, commented on the picture, writing: "Love it! These are my girls! Miss them so much but so happy they are together! Thank you so very much for the photos."

Cahoon was a rising high school senior at Forest City Regional high school where she played volleyball and basketball, according to team rosters. 

The family has started a fundraiser in her memory with donations being sent to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

"Our family started collecting soda tabs in 2016 to create a soda tab chain mail armor for Stephen for his 40th birthday. We continued collecting and each one collected was worth a kiss from Mom. Aly and Bri went out of their way at BCT to collect tabs from those that drank the “yucky” tomato juice. They sent us the tabs from BCT so mom could dish out kisses later. As a family we have decided to collect the soda tabs as Kisses for Aly. The Ronald McDonald house has been so good to us during this difficult time, we want to help them too. Tab collection is a fund raiser for The Ronald Mc Donald House and now Kisses for Aly will help them."

She's survived by her parents Stephen and Susan, her twin, her two young brothers, her extended family, friends, classmates, and fellow army trainees. 

Funeral and memorial service details have not been shared publicly.

The army continues to investigate her death. 

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