John Cochrane’s legacy of community service has made him a beloved figure in South Shore Island. In addition to being a former Islip Town Councilman and President of Cochrane Insurance Company, as a retired U.S. Navy Captain, his long list of service decorations includes Gold Stars in the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service, and Navy Achievement. On November 6, he will be honored by the Long Island chapter at their annual Veterans Day “Salute Independence” event, along with two other distinguished veterans, at Captain Bill’s on Ocean Avenue in Bay Shore.
Great South Bay News (GSBN): You are a born and raised Bayshore boy; is that a fair assessment?
John Cochrane (JC): Yes! My father would take us to Fire Island in the summertime when I grew up. We went from Bayshore to Atlantique. I went around the world with the Navy but returned here because I love the Great South Bay and Bayshore.
GSBN: And you graduated from Bayshore High School, correct?
JC: Correct. Class of ’78.
GSBN: Yeah. And you’re a multi-generational family. Your father also graduated from Bay Shore High School.
JC: Somebody just did a history about my family two weeks ago. We came over as indentured servants from Scotland in 1840. Then 1851, John and James Cochran moved from Sayville to Oakdale. They started Oyster Farm after the Civil War, then moved to Bayshore in 1870. My Aunt Jesse taught Bay Shore for 50 years. Four generations of Cochran men, including me, my father, my grandfather, and my sons, graduated from Bayshore High School.
GSBN: And your father, John C. Cochrane, was a New York State Assemblyman?
JC: He was also Suffolk County Treasurer and Republican leader.
GSBN: Besides summering in Atlantique, you worked many odd jobs on Fire Island, including one of the garbage districts?
JC: That was the worst job ever! I got chased once by guys working at the Alligator nightclub, who throwing cans at me at 3 a.m. I jumped in the back of the garbage truck to get away from them, and ran into a garbage bag full of diapers! I smelled like a skunk the rest of the day. I was also a dishwasher at the Kismet Inn and worked my up busboy. We had a great group of people working there, which they do every summer.
GSBN: Then, you became a deckhand at Fire Island Ferries.
JC: Correct. The ferries know what was great because you get to the wheelhouse once you count the people. I started learning how boats operate, how a ship would turn with three engines, or how to use the radar that helped me in the Navy. To speak in layman’s terms, when you have a ship or boat engine, it’s like turning a bicycle. I still have a lot of “FIFi” friends who are alumni.
GSBN: Then you went to college and began service in the US Navy after that?
JC: Yeah, I was commissioned in 1982. Out of Jacksonville University, I was an NROTC Midshipman commissioned as a surface warfare officer. I was a good ship handler because of my days with the ferries. I learned from the best captains at the time, like Captain Jack. He was a mentor to all of us. He would have us use radar even on crystal clear days. He wanted to make sure that we knew where every buoy was.
GSBN: Do you want to reflect on your years of service?
JC: The Cold War was in full effect during the Reagan era. Little things kept popping up, which our military responded to––like Beirut, Granada, and Muammar Qad dafi’s line of death––It might’ve not been extended war like Ukraine, but conflicts kept popping up, in the eighties. So, I had an 11-month deployment on the Battleship New Jersey. The rise of terrorism really started in the eighties. Then, the Persian Gulf War took place in the nineties. Later, the embassy bombing in Kenya. Different areas were getting attacked before 9/11, and by the time that happened, I was in the reserves, which basically became active duty for me again.
GSBN: How long was your military career?
JC: The paperwork says 34 years.
GSBN: I have to wonder where you found time to do so much else. Working with your family insurance company and becoming a councilman of the town of Islip, how did you stay such a busy man?
JC: Well, you know, if you have a good staff, you can do things outside the workload of nine to five. I could juggle running the insurance company and being a councilman because I could show up here in the morning, go to the town hall, get my paperwork done, kiss the babies, cut the ribbon, and then come back in the afternoon and do insurance. I was at President Lion’s Club about 20 years ago, is where I first got involved with Canine Companions. My great staff is here to help me, and I was blessed by having a father who mentored me as an elected official.
GSBN: Let’s talk about your years with the town of Islip. What made you decide to run back in 2011?
JC: No, actually, it was 2007. I first screened to run for county legislator, then during the interview, they selected me to run for supervisor instead, but the next day, the Pentagon called and said, “Captain, you’re getting mobilized.” I gave up being a supervisor, went off for a year in Iraq, returned, and then started getting my ducks in a row to run for a council spot in 2011.
GSBN: So, you had to delay your dream for public office because of your country needed you.
JC: Yeah, I missed the boat. But you know what? During my tour in the desert, I did many exciting things. It was a real learning experience. They put me on a ship in the Persian Gulf, and I had to work with Iraqi counterparts. After a couple of weeks, I realized these people have families; they’re not haters; they’re not much different than me. To this day, I still get texts and emails from some of them. So, it was a growing experience for me, a positive one. After I returned, I ran for election in 2011 and got sworn in in 2012.
GSBN: One of my strongest memories of you as a councilman was after those children were bitten by sharks offshore of Atlantique in 2018.
JC: I’m going to tell you a story about that. [Islip Town Supervisor] Angie [Capenter] held that press conference. First, the paramedic speaks, then the lifeguard speaks, but just as the press conference is winding down, Angie turns to me and says, ‘John, do you have anything to say?’ At the time, I was involved with the oyster program and had been spending a lot of time in the bay. So, I turn to the camera. ‘We’re in their environment, and the big fish are in. It’s that time of year,” I said, wearing my navy hat and glasses. The next day, my Facebook lights up all my Navy buddies like, ‘Hey, Tom Cruise!’ Two weeks later, a high school friend’s daughter was in Paris. She sent me a link where they have me speaking in French about the shark attack! So, the shark story went worldwide.
GSBN: Well, it was a chaotic situation, and you became the voice of reason with a few well-chosen words.
JC: That’s what you turn, you learn as a senior officer. You keep it short, sweet.
GSBN: Now you are on the Town of Islip Advisory Board for Veterans
JC: That and also the Community Development Agency Board. Community Development Agency (CDA). That’s a great program that the town has for affordable housing access. I’m also on the ADDAPT board, which promotes aerospace and defense industries in Long Island. I want to keep myself in public service. I have not given up on politics. There are still things I can bring to the table. So, I will keep myself out there in case something comes up.
GSBN: Since Canine Companions are the impetus for this interview, let’s discuss them. Are you looking forward to the November 6 event?
JC: Canine Companions gave a presentation to the Lion’s Club, and I was in awe. You’re not just dealing with people who have vision issues. There’s no handicap those dogs can’t handle. They can do up to 72 functions. After 9/11 happened, our veterans came home with no legs or one arm. The canine becomes part of the men and women handicapped by war. The volunteers and the people that work over there in Medford are unbelievable. What a crew! I’m a dog lover. I’ve had dogs my whole life except for my time in the Navy. I have a doodle now, and when I come home, that wagging tail and eyes looking at me makes me forget about the stress I might have had during the day.
GSBN: John, is there anything you want to discuss that my questions did not touch on in this interview?
JC: Let’s talk about the other two men who are being honored by Canine Companions that evening. Everybody has their own story. Jackie [John] Baker was in Vietnam. His career is much different than mine. He served as President of the Kismet Homeowner Association. Then there’s Warren James, who is now 101 years old! He served in the Pacific War and earned two WW II Battle Stars. He worked for the Fair Harbor ferry company and still keeps his house in Lonelyville. There will be a Fire Island touch in the evening. I guarantee that people from all the Great South Bay communities. It’s going to be a fun night.