Captain Laier was the pilot of a F-86A Sabrejet fighter interceptor with the 336th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On 19 June 1951, while on a combat mission near Sonchon, Korea, his aircraft was attacked by two MiG-15s. He parachuted to safety but was taken Prisoner of War. He was presumed dead on 28 February 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Laier was awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.