Master Sergeant Cogdill was a member of the 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near Hoensong, South Korea on 13 February 1951.

Cogdill was awarded the Purple Heart, 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.