USMA Class of 1946, Captain Cochran was a pilot of a F-94 jet Starfire fighter with the 4th Fighter Squadron stationed at Naha Air Base, Okinawa. On 21 April 1952, while flying a training mission, his aircraft suffered a mid-air collision with another aircraft.

Cochran was awarded 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.