He earned an associate's degree and then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He was discharged and returned to Kansas in 1945, marrying Bonnie May Price in 1946 and becoming a father of four.
Vermillion owned and published a newspaper, the Independence Weekly News.
In 1956, he ran for the Kansas House of Representatives and won, serving two terms from 1957 to 1960.
He left the state legislature, but returned in the 1968 election, when he ran for the Kansas Senate, serving one term in the 10th Senate district and two additional terms in the 15th after redistricting.