He joined the crew of the battleship USS New York, but returned to Annapolis in August 1926 as an assistant coach of the football team.

[1] Between June 1939 and February 1942, Taylor worked in the Records Section of the Officer Personnel Division in the Bureau of Navigation}, with the rank of lieutenant commander from 1 July 1939.

Wasp was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on 15 September, and so badly damaged that she had to be sunk by United States ships.

Duncan collected survivors from the carrier, transferring 701 to other ships, and took 18 wounded and two dead bodies to the base hospital on Espiritu Santo, which she reached on 16 September.

In the resulting Battle of Cape Esperance, Duncan fired torpedoes at the Japanese cruiser Furutaka but was damaged by shellfire.

His citation read:For extraordinary heroism during action against enemy Japanese naval forces off Savo Island on October 11, 1942.

Although his ship had sustained heavy damage under hostile bombardment, Lieutenant Commander Taylor, by skillful maneuvering, successfully launched torpedoes which contributed to the destruction of a Japanese cruiser.

His citation read:For meritorious service in action against the enemy...operating in the Bismarck Archipelago area on the night of February 24–25, 1944.

Commander Taylor led his ships deep into enemy held waters in a harassing night raid and bombardment of Japanese installations in the vicinity of Rabaul.

Despite known enemy shore batteries and possible mine fields, he directed the attack at close range, which resulted in severe damage to supply areas and ammunition dumps.

He was promoted to vice admiral on 30 December 1959, and commanded Antisubmarine Defense Force, Atlantic Fleet from January 1960 until November 1963, which included during the Cuban Missile Crisis.