Born in McAlester, Oklahoma, Vernon enlisted in the Navy and soon received a commission as an ensign. He shipped out on the John F. Steffen as the officer over the ship's naval Armed Guard Center. He sailed around the world on two other merchant marine vessels during the war. After Christmas of 1943 he was assigned to the Henry V. Alvarado, which ferried goods to islands in the Pacific. On September 15, 1944 he boarded the Santa Anna, a refrigerated ship that transported fresh fruits and vegetables. It sailed on round trips between San Francisco, Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Vernon and the crew served thirty days out, and fifteen days stateside. "Never fired a shot in enemy action," he reports of his war experience. After Vernon was discharged as a lieutenant he spent most of his career in insurance.