His radio career was cut short when Stanford joined the Australian Army in 1950 during the where he fought with the at the battles of and as a . He was awarded the and the from General . He was wounded in action when an enemy grenade landed on his position and exploded right next to him, injured his left arm from the during the . He returned to Australia with an honorable discharged and attended the . In 1956, Stanford married Abby Clementine (1933-), a hair fashion designer and would had two kids, Jack in 1957 and Cassidy in 1960. 