In November and December, one of the busiest periods of the year for the transportation sector, the Wreaths Across America mission brings drivers together in an effort of unparalleled unity. With a positive, “can-do” work ethic, these professionals make it possible for Americans to honor millions of veterans laid to rest at home and overseas. In 2024, with over 4,909 participating locations, in addition to Arlington National Cemetery, transportation logistics were immense.

Many of these drivers are military veterans and say the truckload of fresh balsam-fir wreaths is the most precious cargo they transport in their careers. Wreaths Across America shares their stories in the “Trucking Tributes” feature online and on Wreaths Across America Radio.

David May has been representing XPO as a professional driver for twenty-eight years. When he first started driving, David wasn’t sure the transmission in his truck would survive let alone his driving career. “It was back in the 70s when I got out of high school, and the economy was terrible,” David shared. “College wasn’t in my future, at least not at that time, and I had a couple of interests, one being the military and the other was being a truck driver. By joining the military, I had the opportunity to both. My first opportunity to drive a semi was right after finishing school. As a Private in the Army, you were not allowed to drive the semis; you drove a jeep. On my first assignment, I was getting my jeep ready in the motor pool and waiting on my sergeant, who drove the semi, but he never showed up. I don’t know what happened to him, but the truck master came over to me and asked me where he was, and I said I hadn’t seen him. He asked me to follow him to his office and give him my military license, and he typed tractor trailer on it. He looked at me and said you have had your training, and that truck needs to be at a certain place at a certain time, and you’d better get going because you’re already late. I did receive some training, but I certainly wasn’t proficient at shifting, but it was the Army. You didn’t tell them, no, so off I went. I heard more grinding noises and screaming that day out of that transmission than I thought was possible, but I did make it through okay. The next day, the truck master called me to his office, and I thought, oh no, I hope that transmission didn’t fall out of the truck last night. He looked at me and started laughing at me and said, Private May, you did a fine job yesterday, and I’m going to make you my regular tractor-trailer driver.” David says he was surprised and thrilled and he has been driving a rig for forty-eight years since that first military assignment. “For the last twenty-eight years, I’ve been with XPO and I’m so proud of them and their record of hiring military veterans.”

David comes from a long line of military men and knew he did not want to spend any length of time on a ship, so he chose the U.S. Army as his desired branch of service. “My grandfather served in World War I, my uncles were in World War II, and one of my uncles, who was a Marine, was a survivor of Pacific Islands and just recently passed away at 98. He was a Marine right up until the day he died. I went into the Army on the buddy program, so my first assignment was in the same battalion that my buddy worked out of, so that was nice. You know, so many people take for granted that we can get up every day free to do what we want to do, but there are still members of our military who are serving somewhere in harm’s way. I didn’t want to take that for granted. I looked at it as though it was my debt to pay.”

David had never heard of Wreaths Across America until he became an America’s Road Team Captain. He said he had heard many Captains come back and speak about their experiences and said his involvement was all that he had heard it would be and more. “I hadn’t heard of one driver that I talked to that wasn’t touched by the experience,” David shared. “Wreaths is an organizational achievement, and from the moment you arrive in Maine, they have services set up for the drivers: constant food and showers, plenty of parking, and the warehouse operation where they are loading three million wreaths. To do all that, and then to hold a convoy together of that size. My wife said when we pulled out of town it took us fifteen minutes to clear that town. We’re not only going through small towns; we have full police escorts with cruisers and motorcycles, and their responsibility is to get us all the way to Arlington. We’re going through cities like New York City and Philly during rush hour and to be on time and safe it was flawless. The job that they did was just amazing and I cannot even tell you how impressed I am.”

David expressed what so many other drivers have shared in Trucking Tributes and that was the emotional rollercoaster impact of being a member of the Honor Fleet. “There were so many moments I could share, but one that really sticks with me was meeting a fully decorated 88-year-old Vietnam veteran. He had seen some bad things, and he really did not like to be around a lot of people, but one day, someone came up to me and said that man really likes your camouflaged truck and I think he would like to get in it. So, I went to him and said why don’t you come along with us today, and you will have some fun and he did. At first, he was kind of quiet. Now this soldier when he came home after serving, he was greeted with rotten tomatoes. As we entered a town, I could see all the people lined up on the street, so I rolled his window down, and I gave him a flag. The kids were shouting, cheering, and waving their flags and he got so excited and started waving his flag and thanking them. He got the homecoming that was fifty years overdue. My heart was just pounding I was so happy for this man. Then after that, I was all energized and happy, and the crowd started to thin out. Toward the end of the line, I saw this one lady holding a sign and  that said, thank you, you’re carrying my brother-in-law’s wreath. It was a lot of days like that. Up and down, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.”

Thank you, David, for your military service and your tireless commitment to our veterans through the mission to remember, honor and teach.

If you’d like to join the Wreaths Across America Honor Fleet, you can get started with a click right here!

You can hear more with David on Trucking Tributes, which can be listened to every Truckin’ Tuesday at 11:00 AM and again at 4:00 PM EST on Wreaths Across America Radio and on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM CT as part of RadioNemo’s Road Gang Radio, streaming exclusively at RadioNemo.com — or stream on-demand anytime on your favorite podcast and streaming platforms. Just search “RadioNemo.”

Discover the Trucking Tributes archive playlist on Soundcloud.com