Photo By Spc. Kimberly Gonzalez | Sgt. 1st Class Steven T. Lunn, a 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Paratrooper...... read more read more
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FORT CARSON, COLO. -- In July 2019, Sgt. 1st Class Steven T. Lunn conducted a high altitude, low opening jump in Eloy, Arizona for a training mission. As the Skyvan aircraft increased in altitude, Lunn was double-checking his equipment and waited for the door to open. This was supposed to be just another jump to add to his logbook. Little did he know that the thrill of this particular jump would turn into a nightmare and forever change his life.
Lunn grew up in Junction City, Kansas, where he attended Emporia State University on a track and field scholarship. However, his lack of focus on his education resulted in him dropping out of college two years later. In May 2006, Lunn enlisted in the United States Army to help him refocus on his life and future.
“I originally planned on doing a simple three-year contract,” said Lunn. “But almost 17 years later, here I am.”
Lunn joined as a Parachute Rigger, a Soldier who packs and inspects parachutes for airdrop operations, with his first duty station being at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (know as Fort Liberty since 2023). In 2009 he was stationed at the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), where he spent three years prepping parachutes and going to many out-of-state missions.
In 2019 he was assigned as a test jumper to the Airborne Test Force at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona where they conducted Freefall Proficiency training for jumpers to enhance their knowledge and experience for upcoming tests.
Lunn woke up on July 9, 2019, preparing just as he did for any regular day as a test jumper for Freefall Operation. After successfully conducting his first jump in the early morning, he repacked his parachute and loaded it into the Skyvan for his second jump of the day.
“Coming into the drop zone for landing, I decided to land crosswind as landing with the wind would take me into the trees and brush, possibly hurting myself or damaging the equipment,” said Lunn. “However, as fate would have it, the left side of my canopy collapsed, turning me and driving me into the ground from about 150 ft. I ended up breaking my right femur and foot, my left tibia and fibula, and having a brain bleed.”
Lunn was quickly flown to a local emergency hospital in Phoenix, where he underwent a nine-hour ankle reconstruction surgery. After the surgery, he spent four months at an inpatient rehabilitation facility relearning his activities of daily living, showering, dressing, and many other challenges. This also included learning to stand again and ultimately walking using crutches.
“I was eventually released to go home and spent the next eight months trying to heal broken bones,” said Lunn. “Throughout that year, I went through multiple surgeries due to infection or broken hardware in my ankle, and I eventually had about 4 cm of my tibia removed due to a bone infection where I was fitted with an external fixator to regrow my shin bone.”
Lunn felt like he went through some difficult times during his recovery and he didn’t know if he would ever jump again, let alone walk at all.
“As I progressed, the most difficult thing was finding a ‘new normal’ for everyday activities,” said Lunn. “It took a lot to accept that I couldn’t do things as I could before. Simple chores were now complicated to complete and took a lot of time, such as walking my dog, getting groceries, and cleaning the house.”
He was assigned to the Soldier Recovery Unit at Fort Carson, Colorado, for further recovery and care. After a year of healing with the external fixator on his lower left leg, his bones began to heal, and he no longer needed his stabilization device.
Lunn was able to continue his military career and education. Unbeknownst to him, he had rebroken his tibia and fibula during the five weeks of attending a senior leadership course.
“After all I had been through at that point, I was so numb to the pain that I didn’t realize that I had completely rebroken my leg,” said Lunn. “After having ten surgeries, my surgeon suggested a below-the-knee amputation, and it was conducted on October 12, 2021. I finally knew what it was to be pain-free.”
Six weeks after his amputation, he received his first check socket, a temporary socket to get the proper sizing corrected before creating a permanent carbon fiber socket, and walked out of the Prosthetics clinic with two legs again.
“Watching my family continue with life helped me realize that just because I had my accident, life itself didn’t stop,” said Lunn. “People still spent time with each other and their friends, and I wanted that back so bad.”
Lunn made his first civilian skydive on July 9, 2022, exactly three years from the day of his accident. It was a significant accomplishment for him to be able to jump again, but this was not the end of it.
On January 23, 2023, he received full permission to return to active-duty status and on February 28, 2023, Lunn was recognized at the Parachute Rigger Department in Fort Lee, Virginia (known as Fort Gregg-Adams since 2023), as the first Army parachute rigger to return to duty as an amputee.
“From day one, I was determined to jump again,” said Lunn. “It was just something I had to do, like getting back on a horse when bucked off. I couldn’t let my accident get the better of me, and I was not going to let that be my last jump.”
On May 16, 2023, Lunn walked into one of the hangars of Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, and rigged himself up to an MC-6 parachute. He then made his way into a Boeing C-130 and sat down as the aircraft prepared to take off.
Lunn was excited to smell the jet fuel that reminded him of why he loves to jump. He was not nervous; he knew this was exactly where he should be.
He stood up and waited for the jumpmaster to call for them to jump. The green light turned on, and he was the second person in his group to go. Lunn stepped forward, came to the edge of the aircraft, and conducted his first static line jump with a prosthetic leg.
As he came down, Lunn was conducting the proper procedures for landing and prepared himself as he got closer to the ground. Within seconds, Lunn had landed perfectly on the ground with no injuries.
Lunn is now an airdrop operations noncommissioned officer for 10th SFG(A). His primary responsibilities are ensuring Airborne operations run smoothly both in and outside the continental U.S.
After 17 years of service and over 300 jumps, Lunn was able to continue as a paratrooper, Airborne!
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2023 12:34 |
| Story ID: | 446837 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 605 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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