[1] He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1946, and was commissioned in the infantry.

He subsequently became the Infantry Branch assignments officer, and later was an advisor to the Iranian military.

Shoemaker retired from the army in 1982 to the Fort Hood area, and remained active in community service.

Shoemaker was inducted in the United States Army Operational Testers' Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2004, he was awarded the Distinguished Graduate Award by the Association of Graduates, the United States Military Academy alumni association.

[3] Shoemaker died on 21 June 2017, at a hospital in Harker Heights, Texas, at the age of 93.