Mervin Taylor enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, attended the U.S. Navy Reserve Midshipman School at the University of Notre Dame, and was commissioned an ensign in October 1944. He continued service in the Naval Reserve after the war while pursuing studies at George Pepperdine College where he graduated in 1947. In 1947 he entered service in the Air Force, serving in combat in both Korea and Vietnam, and retired in 1977 as a U.S. Air Force Brigadier General.