Taylor joined the
United States Army from
San Francisco, California, in 1956 and was commissioned as an officer in 1965. By November 8, 1967, he was serving as a
first lieutenant in Troop B, 1st Squadron,
1st Cavalry Regiment,
Americal Division. When his commander was wounded in action, Taylor was ordered into the combat zone to take command and prepare a search-and-destroy mission. During a battle the next day, west of
Que Son in the
Republic of Vietnam, Taylor repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to rescue crewmen from damaged assault vehicles and personnel carriers. He was subsequently promoted to
captain and awarded the
Medal of Honor on November 19, 1968. Taylor reached the rank of
major before retiring from the army in 1980. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminology from the
University of Tampa. In October 2024, Taylor joined 15 other Medal of Honor recipients in publicly endorsing
Donald Trump for
president. ==Medal of Honor citation==