Private First Class Taylor was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 17 October 1952. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Private First Class Taylor was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, 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.