BOONE, N.C. — Wayne Holden's story has many layers. He's a Vietnam veteran and a purple heart recipient after being shot twice. He remembers those days like it was yesterday. 

What You Need To Know

Wayne Holden delivers and decorates Christmas trees all over the country

He only brings trees that are more than 20 feet

Holden decorated this year's Carolina Panthers Christmas tree

"There's memories that you have that you never forget," Holden said.

It's when he left the military that he began this journey.

"I lived in Hickory for five years, and I worked for plastic packaging, and then I started going to school full-time," Holden said.

He and his wife decided to open Sugar Mountain Nursery. Now, they have a 45-acre nursery in Morganton and another in Sugar Mountain.

"We evolved," Holden said.

They evolved even more in the 1980s when a customer called and asked if they could do a 50-foot tree. It was at that moment that Holden's family started delivering massive trees around the country and even decorated them.

His business decorated the Carolina Panthers tree.

"It's just special, you know, when they do the countdown and 50,000 lights pop up on a 50-foot Christmas tree you say, 'I did that,'" Holden said.