Jet Aviation Presents Customized John Deere Vehicle to Wounded Warrior

On Oct. 21 at the NBAA Convention in Orlando, Jet Aviation presented Nathan Shumaker, a wounded warrior, with a one-of-a-kind, fully-customized John Deere vehicle.
Former Army Specialist Nathan Shumaker was severely wounded while serving in Afghanistan, suffering the loss of his left leg above the knee. The craftsmen at Jet Aviation St. Louis have applied their skills and creativity to produce a remarkable vehicle that is adapted mechanically and in design for Nathan, and honors his service and his sacrifice. Many of the workforce of nearly 900 donated their off-hours – bringing together the aviation disciplines that create remarkable aircraft for Jet Aviation’s maintenance, refurb, and completions customers at its large facility at St. Louis Downtown Airport – to customize the vehicle purchased by Jet Aviation for this project.

The vehicle incorporates his military insignia, badges, patches, and other symbols of his service – especially the Purple Heart he earned. The carbon fiber that is a major element in all of Nathan’s prosthetic legs has become a symbolic link to the vehicle as an equally prominent feature in its design. Along with the audience that gathered to watch the presentation and to honor Nathan, he got his first look at this vehicle that will enable him, his wife, and their 2-year-old son to enjoy roaming the woods and so many other outdoor activities.

Called Operation Deere by the Jet Aviation crew, it is the second Honoring a Wounded Warrior project to be unveiled and presented at NBAA. In the inaugural event last year in Las Vegas, Jet Aviation presented former Army Specialist Chad Hembree with a customized Harley Davidson motorcycle in Operation Hog. Chuck Krugh, the senior vice president and general manager at Jet Aviation St. Louis who originated the project, has said Operation Deere was 10 times the magnitude of Operation Hog.

The unveiling and presentation at Jet Aviation’s Booth included the premier of a professionally-produced video on the large screen behind the project display that will tell the story of how the designers, engineers, and craftsmen transformed a stock John Deere vehicle into this unique homage to Nathan’s service and sacrifice. An adjacent kiosk provided an account of Nathan’s experiences in words and photographs.

The events of the morning were followed by an Operation Deere-themed cocktail party with special hors d’oeuvres at the booth.

“The Honoring a Wounded Warrior project has become something extraordinary and especially meaningful for us at Jet Aviation St. Louis,” says Chuck Krugh, senior vice president and general manager. “We’re proud to apply our unique skills and capabilities to honor the service and sacrifice of a Wounded Warrior and all of servicemen and women. Every one of the many, many hours we dedicate to this project is our way of thanking and giving something back to those who give so much to our country.”

Selecting an Honoree

Jet Aviation St. Louis chose Nathan Shumaker as the recipient of this year’s Honoring a Wounded Warrior project through a search process assisted by Operation Homefront. Candidates responding to a call for applicants submitted essays explaining how their mobility had been restricted by their combat injuries and how a specially designed vehicle would assist them. The Jet Aviation team screened all of the essays and chose a small group of finalists, each of whom was then interviewed by phone.

Nathan Shumaker’s Story

Influenced by his grandfather’s service as an Army paratrooper in the 101st Airborne, Nathan enlisted in the Army in June 2005. He drew an assignment in artillery and was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2007 as a member of a gun crew on a 155-millimeter, M777 A-1 Howitzer. He returned to Fort Bragg in February 2009. He married his high-school sweetheart, Melissa, the next September.

He volunteered to rejoin his gun crew when they were deployed for a second tour in Afghanistan in January 2010. On May 4, the crew had just reported to their gun site when a mortar round fired by the Taliban struck in their midst, wounding all eight men. Nathan was severely wounded in both legs and the abdomen. It was about a week before he awoke at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. to realize that his left leg had been amputated.

Nathan approached his recovery and rehabilitation with the same energy and dedication he had his military service. He underwent 11 months of rehab at Walter Reed. When he went home in March 2011, with a medical retirement as a sergeant and a Purple Heart medal, Nathan began the task of building a new life. After contemplating his career options, he is attending college to earn a degree that will enable him to assist veterans in getting all of the benefits to which they are entitled – “veterans like me,” he says.

Nathan and his wife bought a new home in Herculaneum, MO, and welcomed the arrival of their son in December 2012.

Nathan still enjoys hunting and target-shooting, but his restricted mobility impedes his enjoyment of outdoor activities. He wants to add bow-hunting and fishing to those activities, and he is eager to begin introducing his son to the joys of the outdoors.

This year’s Honoring a Wounded Warrior project by Jet Aviation is a huge step in restoring some of the mobility that Nathan lost in service to his country.