First Lieutenant Cochran was a pilot of a F4U-4 Corsair fighter with the Marine Fighter Squadron 312, Marine Air Group 12 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29). On 6 February 1951, while on a combat mission eight miles northwest of Pyongtaek, South Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and burst into flames.

Cochran was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.