My Helmet Was ‘Blowed’ Off

Yesterday, November 11, 2024, was Veterans Day, therefore, I want to honor two veterans who are very close to me and important in my life. The first person is Earl Cazier from Afton, Wyoming who fought in WWI and was my grandfather. The second person I am paying respect to is Lt. Col. Paul S. Cazier, my son. Both of these men sacrificed their time to the service of the United States of America. 

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Earl was a quiet man of dignity, born in Ogden, Utah in 1891.  Not surprisingly, in 1918 he received a letter from Uncle Sam ordering him to report to the 37th Ohio Division for active military service. He was sent to Europe as part of the United States Army Infantry where he fought in France and Belgium.

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Just before the Armistice, which signaled the end of WWI, he was fighting in Belgium and was shot in the back but didn’t realize it and he continued fighting. It wasn’t until he got back to camp that some of his friends noticed he had been shot. He didn’t feel any pain, so he was surprised when he took off his pack and found that a bullet had gone through it, his overcoat, blouse, and shirt. It stopped at his undershirt. Earl was a man of faith and attributed his life being saved to divine protection.

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Earl had a friend in his unit, Elmer, who claimed that there was no God. One day as they fought together in a skirmish Earl described the events this way, "a bomb came over and lit right in front of me … picked me up, tossed and threw me, dirt flying all over and [my] helmet was blowed off. … I turned to Elmer and … he was hollering … ‘Oh God, oh God, help us!’ So, in just about two hours, he acknowledged God like most of us do when we’re in trouble."

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After the war Earl returned home to his family and lived the rest of his life on his farm in Star Valley with devotion to his family, his faith, and his country. He taught his children about his belief in God but didn’t force it on them. As they developed their own spirituality, he accepted their right to believe as they chose. He also taught them to love and respect and be grateful for the freedom they enjoyed.

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My son Paul graduated from Brigham Young University in December of 1995 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He served in many different locations and jobs. He started as a Missile Launch Officer in Laramie, Wyoming, in a missile silo many hundreds of feet down in the earth. His job was to launch missiles if any enemy missiles entered U.S. air space.

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Throughout his twenty-two-year career he also served at Air Force Bases in California, Texas, Florida, Germany, and Mali. Some of his jobs included being an instructor in the missile launch program, training manager that oversaw the technical training, Operations Flight Commander, launch controller, a student in the Naval Post Graduate School, and Senior Defense Official in Mali where he was in charge of military relations between the U.S. and Mali. His job required him to travel to many different countries on the African continent.

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Like his great grandfather, Earl Cazier, Paul maintained a commitment to his personal beliefs of family and spiritual heritage. He has also taught each of his eight children to be grateful for their freedom and the opportunity to worship how they so choose.

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Both of these men respected each person’s right way to worship or live their spiritual beliefs and understood the principles behind the evolving research on the importance of spirituality. Spirituality is an effective resiliency tool that we can use to help our children develop for their benefit and growth. Spirituality doesn’t have to be in the form of organized religion; it can be something as simple as an individual’s search for meaning and purpose in their life. Our children can benefit greatly from being taught to search for their own meaning and purpose so they can live their life in a way that will prepare and strengthen and guide them through their life’s journey.

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Life in this the United States of America provides each of us with many opportunities to live our lives in ways that we choose, whether or not it’s what others close to us may have chosen for us. God Bless America and the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country so proudly and effectively.


Happy Failing Forward,


Calvert Cazier




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