Hospitalman Stafford was attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. His unit was guarding a South Korean Supply Depot near Kojo, North Korea when it came under attack. He was listed as Missing in Action while tending his wounded comrades on October 27, 1950. He was presumed dead on March, 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.