Hyland was born in 1912 in Philadelphia, the son of a naval officer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1934 and completed naval aviation training in 1937. Posted to the Philippines, he was located there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor to begin US involvement in World War II. He participated in the defense of the Philippines, and the subsequent Allied withdrawal to Australia, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing a British airman in the Molucca Sea. He then became the personal pilot of Admiral Ernest King, then Chief of Naval Operations. Upon returning to the Pacific Theater in 1943, he took command of an air squadron based on . He participated in numerous operations, earning a Silver Star for leading a ground attack against the Japanese at Kure on March 19, 1945, and another Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for other missions against the Japanese.