Roll of Honor
William Clair Godfrey, Sr.
Incident
Chief Park Ranger William Godfrey died of exposure in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, while attempting to hike through deep snow to reach the park headquarters at Annie Springs.
A severe storm over the previous week had dumped 44 inches of snow in the region, blocking all roads. Chief Ranger Godfrey had reached the southern entrance to the park in his car and couldn't travel any further. He remained in his car overnight and then notified telephone operators he was going to hike the 10 miles to the park headquarters.
A search party was sent out after he failed to check-in or reach his destination. He was found approximately 2-1/2 miles south of Annie Springs, but died shortly after the search party located him.
Chief Park Ranger Godfrey had served with the National Park Service for four years and had previously served with the United States Forest Service for six years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-EB388657- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief Park Ranger Godfrey gave the United States Department of the Interior 10 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief Park Ranger Godfrey.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief Park Ranger William Clair Godfrey, Sr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service, 28 of 40 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 70% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Clair Godfrey, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How William Clair Godfrey, Sr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Clair Godfrey, Sr. is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
39 officers from United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
