Army Veteran Awarded A New Semi-Truck At Houston Ceremony

HOUSTON, TX — A retired U.S. Army veteran who was injured while serving tours in South Korea and Afghanistan, was awarded the keys to a brand new Freightliner Truck at a ceremony in Houston on April 7.

Surrounded by his family, friends and his K-9 driving companion 'Sargent,' James Rogers was handed the keys to a fully loaded Freightliner truck by representatives from the Progressive Keys to Progress program, and the St. Christopher Trucker’s Relief Fund.

“This is just overwhelming,” Rogers said in an interview with Patch. “It’s like a dream.”

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

But the dream was possible because of Progressive Commercial Keys to Progress program, which has donated vehicles to help veterans since 2013.

Over that 5 year span, the program has impacted more than 500 veterans and their families by providing the keys to new vehicles.

However, the program had never awarded a semi-truck, until they handed the keys to Rogers.

Progressive reached out to the St. Christopher Trucker’s Relief Fund to help with the application process.

Shannon Currier, director of philanthropy and development for St. Christopher, said as they began to examine the applications it became clear that Rogers stood out well beyond the other applicants.

Currier said his peers in the Army, and at Prime Transportation where he was employed all talked about his humility and respect for others, and his punctuality for work.

It all sounded good, but the deal was sealed when Currier spoke with Rogers.

“He was just humble and easy to talk to, and always saying that someone had to be more deserving than him,” she said. “We just knew that this was the kind of person we wanted to give this kind of gift to.”

It was a life-changing gift for Rogers, who was medically discharged after an 11-year career in October 2014.

After recovering from his injuries, he began training for a new career with Prime Transportation in 2017, and began hauling refrigerated freight all over the United States.

Rogers said he sees the trucking industry like he did the military — as a tight-knit brotherhood.

In the months that followed, Rogers built up a solid reputation within the company as someone who was hardworking and humble, which led to this special award.

The award allows Rogers to become an owner-operator, and allow him to work for several companies.

"They blessed me with a truck, but they also blessed me with my own operating authorities," Rogers said.

He is in the process of completing his carrier packet completed, and plans to keep working with the company that believed in him, and got him on the path of being an independent business man.

"This is gonna be a good thing," he said.

Images: Courtesy Progressive Commercial

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com