Chisholm attended the Naval Academy and graduated in 1954. On June 13, 1954, Ensign Chisholm married Mary Chaput, and all the males of the wedding party were also ensigns, so the newspapers highlighted this “all-white wedding.”

In 1966 Chisholm was the operations officer of the nuclear frigate U. S. S. Bainbridge, and accepted a gift od silverware from the city of Bainbridge, Georgia.

Chisholm retired from the U.S. Navy in 1974 with the rank of Commander. He lived in State College, Pennsylvania.