A 2 1/2-year-old golden eagle was released back into the wild Saturday as part of a ceremony honoring fallen service members at Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bluffdale.

The eagle, called Isis by her handlers, was found near a highway in Nephi and came under the care of Patti Richards, director of Great Basin Wildlife Rehabilitation, via the Utah Division of Wildlife Services. The bird was barely alive when Richards was called.

"She'd been down a couple of weeks," Richards said. "She was emaciated, dehydrated and blind in one eye ... at first, I thought she would never make it to being releasable."

In addition to her physical injuries, believed to have been caused by the force of an air blast from a passing semitrailer truck, Isis had West Nile virus.

Richards started an intense program to save the bird's life that began with fluid feeding, progressed to hand-feeding her liver and required a training regimen to restart her natural instinct to hunt. Richards said the process is not unlike the methods used to rehabilitate people recovering from trauma.

"It just takes some time, and help, for the brain to correct itself," Richards said.

Richards got Isis back on solid food, which helped the bird fight off her infection, and eventually had her flying again — and hunting live food. When it came time to consider releasing her back into the wild, the connections between the eagle as a symbol of freedom, the plight of recovering service members injured in the war and those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice, led to an idea.

"It started out as a way to honor my father ... a World War II veteran," Richards said. "Then I decided to take it a step further."

Richards got in touch with Camp Williams commanding officer Lt. Col. Robert Dunton, and the ceremony was put together. Dunton opened the event Saturday and called Isis' release a fitting commemoration.

"We've released eagles before on Camp Williams but ... not combined as a tribute to soldiers. We appreciate and thank Ms. Richards for inviting the Utah National Guard to participate in this ceremony ... to honor our fallen comrades," Dunton said.

Utah National Guard Chaplain Gerald White read the names of Utah soldiers who have lost their lives in recent conflicts, which included Marine Lance Cpl. Cesar F. Machado-Olmos. Machado-Olmos was killed in action on Sept. 13, 2004, in Iraq. Machado-Olmos' mother, Patty Acosta, was in attendance Saturday, and hoped the ceremony would keep her son's memory alive as well as provide a reminder that all service members continue to need support.

"This day ... try to remember all the people who are fighting over there for our freedom," Acosta said. "I thank these people for this ceremony ... and for the memory of my son."

Forrest Cuch, executive director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, offered a blessing for the eagle before she was returned to the wild.

Cuch prayed that Isis would "continue to live on and benefit all of us and continue to symbolize freedom and justice and all that is good in this world."

Moments later, the eagle was released from her cage and took flight, passed once close to the gathered crowd, and disappeared over the hills.

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E-mail: araymond@desnews.com