Returning to Iraq: Cadillac grad was wounded five times during first tour

Courtesy photo Brian Sayer will forever wear his memories of war on his chest, his leg, his arm and his head. The Army National Guard Captain was wounded in Iraq five times during the year he served. Now, Sayer is heading back to Iraq.

CADILLAC — Beneath his medals, Brian Sayer wears the true signs of military service.

Beneath four Purple Hearts are four visible wounds on his chest, leg, arm and head. A fifth injury ruptured an ear drum, yet Sayer declined a Purple Heart.

Beneath two Bronze Stars, including one with valor, are the scars of battle.

Yet, after serving in Iraq for a year and leaving as the most decorated soldier in the military, the 1985 Cadillac High School graduate will find himself back in the war-torn nation in two months.

At home, Sayer’s parents Donna and Roland know all too well the dangers of war. Donna has never been afraid to answer the phone — maybe late at night — even after receiving five calls that her son was wounded.

“If it’s his time, it’s his time,” she said. “If he survives, then God has more work for him to do.”

Sayer, a captain in the National Guard, is now in Wisconsin to spend two months training before his 10-month deployment. After being in the military for nearly 20 years, including six and a half in the regular Army, Sayer has four years remaining in his military service.

Since he was a child, Donna said her son has always been preparing to serve.

“From the time he was 12 years old, he wanted to be a policeman and he wanted to be in the military,” Donna said.

After a gruesome football injury, Sayer was told he would always walk with a limp.

Not satisfied with that answer, he ran 10 miles a day, worked out and made sure his ankle would never slow him down.

When Roland took his son to the shooting range at age 15, he excelled. He took his strong work ethic and acquired skills with him at age 18 into the U.S. Army. After finishing his commitment at 24, he enlisted in the National Guard.

The National Guard gave Sayer a chance to pursue his passion: motorcycles. He got an education, learning small engine repair. He eventually became a teacher and to this day he teaches elementary and middle school students in Missouri.

Until he was deployed as a 1st Lieutenant in 2004, Sayer had not served in a war zone overseas.

Around Christmas, Donna learned her son was hit in the face with shrapnel. The hunk of metal was taken by Sayer as a memento.

When an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle in another incident, Sayer wounded his arm. However, he put the injury aside to crawl back into the vehicle and save his driver. He again returned to the burning wreckage to remove ammunition and explosives.

The actions earned him a Bronze Star.

Soon after, another piece of shrapnel struck him in the chest.

“He told me, ‘If it hadn’t been for my bulletproof vest, I would be dead,’” Donna said.

The impact of the shrapnel drove Sayer back 10 feet. Yet he landed on his feet.

The final injury came when a mortar exploded while Sayer was crossing a military compound. He left Iraq with two pieces of metal embedded in his leg.

“I think it’s changed him a little bit,” Donna said. “I think those little things in life don’t matter so much anymore.”

After his fifth injury, Donna sent a letter to Rep. Pete Hoekstra inquiring about her son’s status in Iraq.

With five weeks left in his tour, Sayer got the option of leaving early due to all he’d been through.

He politely declined, choosing instead to finish out his time with his men.

“The reason he got hurt so many times, I believe, is because he’s always out with his men,” Donna said. “He doesn’t stay behind.”

That attitude, his father said, reminds him of Gen. George Patton, who Roland served under during World War II.

“He’s a guy that don’t like prestige,” Roland said.

Although Roland and Donna worry about their son returning, his time will be much different. Instead of being in the field, Sayer will be in the Green Zone, coordinating operations for an engineering battalion.

“One of his superiors told him he was aware of what he’d been through and said it would not happen again,” she said. “So we’ll see.”

mwhetstone@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)