Restoring 'Noble' eagle after 9/11 Published Sept. 9, 2011 By Matt Scales 59th Medical Wing Historian LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked symbols of American power in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Since then, the Pentagon has been repaired and a new World Trade Center is under construction. Few people know that while the U.S. was reeling from the attacks on some of our most important buildings, on the other side of the country a bald eagle, the symbol of the United States since 1782 was also wounded. As Air Force personnel deployed to Afghanistan in response to the attacks on the U.S., in San Antonio, Texas, personnel at Wilford Hall Medical Center played in a critical role in restoring another one of America's symbols just months after the terrorist attacks. Earlier in the year, a six- year- old female bald eagle flew into a truck in southern Oregon, breaking her beak. With such a serious injury, the eagle was taken to Wildlife Images, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Grants Pass, Oregon, where a local dentist by the name of Dr. Jim Hales, decided to call upon the Air Force for medical help. A former commander of the 59th Dental Squadron, Col. Gerard Caron, who is now Maj. Gen. Caron, commander of the 79th Medical Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Md., heard of the unusual request, he immediately endorsed the idea and contacted Maj. Gen. (Ret) Lee Rodgers, former commander of the 59th Medical Wing, to request support. "For us to assist in rehabilitating an injured bald eagle has dramatic publicity value in post 9/11 America...," Caron wrote in his email request to Rodgers. Rodgers agreed. Permission was obtained from Air Force legal experts, and the 59th Medical Wing senior leadership agreed to use its expertise to help the eagle recover from its injuries. Members of the dental squadron at Wilford Hall first used the stereolithography machine to create an image of the eagle's skull. From this mold, they were able to create a prosthetic beak for the eagle, which was attached to her skull with titanium screws. Wilford Hall Medical Center has the only stereolithography and modeling lab in the Air Force which produces dimensionally-accurate medical models and craniofacial prostheses. This capability provides rehabilitative support to patients with acquired or congenital defects of the head and neck region. Named "Winema," after a woman from the Modoc tribe in southern Oregon, the eagle, like America, rebounded from her injuries. The work accomplished by dentists from the 59th Dental Squadron and technicians operating the stereolithography machine allowed the eagle to live a long and healthy life at Wildlife Images, educating hundreds of people about the majestic symbol of the U.S. "Winema" died in 2007.