Private First Class Cox was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was seriously wounded by the enemy near Sangson-ni, North Korea on 3 August 1951 and returned to duty on 23 August 1951. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 10 January 1952.

Cox was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman Badge, 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.