Second Lieutenant Cochran was an Artillery Forward Observer from 64th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 4 April 1951.

Cochran 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.