As millions of Americans geared up to celebrate Independence Day over the weekend, an Army veteran was busy saving our national bird. So to welcome you back from the holiday, here’s the feel-good story of the day.

Jason Galvin, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, spotted the eagle hanging upside down from a tree after having become entangled in a rope. But at 75 feet up, there wasn’t anything the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or local police could do to reach the bird, which had been stranded for two days. The young eagle would die without help, so after clearing it with the DNR, Galvin grabbed his rifle and began shooting at the branches and the rope to dislodge the eagle. After 90 minutes and 150 shots with his .22, Galvin succeeded. The freed eagle is recuperating at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center, and the Galvins and their neighbors agreed on the appropriate name for him: Freedom.