Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, holds the unique distinction of being the only U.S. President to have served as a National Park Service (NPS) ranger. In the summer of 1936, at the age of 23, Ford worked as a seasonal ranger at Yellowstone National Park. His primary duties included directing traffic, supervising campgrounds, and—most famously—acting as an armed guard on the "bear-feeding truck," a practice the NPS has since discontinued for safety reasons. Ford later described that summer as "one of the greatest of my life." His connection to the parks was not merely a youthful adventure; as President, he oversaw the addition of 18 new units to the National Park System, including Big Cypress National Preserve and Valley Forge National Historical Park. His legacy is still celebrated by the NPS today, as he is viewed as a "Ranger-in-Chief" who understood the intrinsic value of American public lands through first-hand experience in the wilderness.