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.

It’s not unheard of for a professional driver to have participated in Wreaths Across America with one company, leave, and take the mission to their new company. That’s precisely how the story goes with Richard Vanier. Richard joined Stevens Trucking in Oklahoma in April and requested that they get involved as a member of the Honor Fleet. Richard will return to Maine in December to pick up a load of veterans’ wreaths, driving a Stevens Trucking truck. “We’ve got about three to four hundred trucks out here, and we do a lot of central U.S. runs, but we go up into Ontario, so I’ve been to Canada three to four times now. We carry a lot of tires,” Richard explained. “The company started with one truck in the oil field back in 1979, and now he’s expanded. Everybody in this company is great, very friendly, very down to earth. They’re more like a family.”

Richard knows a lot about the family feelings because diesel has been running through his veins from the moment he was born. “My Mom’s been driving over the road for over twenty years commercially, and my father’s side of the family also drove. I took the step and got behind the wheel in October of 2021. My parents met through the trucking industry, but they never drove together. Mom and I drove together for almost two years as a team. It was a different experience,” Richard admitted. “A lot of people said to me, ‘Oh, I could never drive with my parent. She looked at me as her son still, but there were times when she could step away and look at me as a co-worker. Honestly, I would do it again. Making memories and seeing everything with your parent was pretty awesome. I would love to do it again.”

One of Richard’s best memories and experiences shared with his mother was the Wreaths Across America effort in 2022, team driving for Tri-State. “They put out the request for volunteers and me and Mom put our names in to do it. We were the first for that company to come to Maine. A couple of other owner-operators did too, but they picked up their wreaths in other parts of the country.” Wreaths Across America operates eight cross-docks throughout the country, so not all drivers have to come to Maine to participate in hauling wreaths.

“It was just like walking into home basically,” Richard shared about entering the driver’s check-in lounge in Columbia Falls, Maine, for the first time. “Rick, who runs the place up there, and another driver, Mason, shook our hands and said, ‘Welcome to the family.’ It’s a feeling you can’t really explain when you get there in Maine. The check-in process is really easy. You walk in, give your name, and then the name of your trucking company, and they give you a pager. Once the pager goes off, they tell you where to go to get loaded, and when the truck is loaded, they put a wreath on the front of your truck. The driver’s lounge has the normal necessities, and you’ve got a pool table and TV. You just sit around and talk with everybody about your experience with wreaths, or just your driving experiences in general, and enjoy the food provided by Tyson. It’s a good time. It’s very relaxing and calming.”

Richard and his Mom, Tracy Vanier, were able to join the Wreaths Across America Escort to Arlington as it took off in Maine on Sunday morning. “That was just amazing seeing everybody lining the roads waving, cheering, and saluting even though it was snowing and really cold that morning.”

The Vanier’s peeled off from the escort to haul their veterans’ wreaths to South Carolina and Georgia. “We had over five thousand wreaths and fourteen cemeteries to do. It was amazing meeting all the people who do the ceremonies. They were so grateful to see us. They even understood when the snow and black ice forced us to pull over. We were going to be a day late, but they were so nice and said, ‘Hey, just be safe and let us know your eta when you get near.’ Even though you have five thousand wreaths on, it’s still a light load.”

Driver Mason Smith, who recently passed away, was a staunch ambassador for Wreaths Across America, and he explained to Richard that the best thing he could do was talk to others about the mission to spread the word about the need for trucks. “I talk to everyone I can, and I’m willing to answer any questions about Wreaths. I love it. The whole experience was just outstanding. It’s an honor to be able to carry those five thousand wreaths and deliver them to the veterans who have passed or fallen. That’s what we’re there for is to say thank you to them the best way we can. I wasn’t military and my Mom wasn’t, but my grandfather was in the Coast Guard, and I’ve got a few aunts and uncles who were in the military. This is the best way to say thank you, and that’s the reason we came up there.”

Both Richard, with Stevens Trucking, and his Mom, Tracy, with Alabama Motor Express, will be members of the Honor Fleet in 2025.

Thank you, Richard and Tracy Vanier, and the entire Stevens Trucking and Alabama Motor Express teams, for your continued commitment to our veterans through your support of the Wreaths Across America mission.

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 Richard 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