USS Greer ( DD - 145 ) USS " Greer " ( DD – 145 ) was a in the United States Navy , the first ship named for Rear Admiral James A . Greer ( 1833 – 1904 ) . In what became known as the " " Greer " incident , " she became the first U . S . Navy ship to fire on a German ship , three months before the United States officially entered World War II . The incident led President Franklin D . Roosevelt to issue what became known as his " shoot - on - sight " order . Many have disputed whether the " Greer " acted aggressively before shots were exchanged . " Greer " was launched by William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co . , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , 1 August 1918 ; sponsored by Miss Evelina Porter Gleaves , daughter of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves ; and commissioned 31 December 1918 , Commander C . E . Smith in command . Service history . 1919 to 1941 . " Greer " s shake down took her to Azores , from which she rendezvoused with , carrying President Woodrow Wilson home from the Versailles Peace Conference , and escorted her to the United States . After exercises in coastal waters , " Greer " was assigned to Trepassy Bay , Newfoundland , for duties during a transatlantic flight by four Navy seaplane s , one of which , NC - 4 , safely completed the historic undertaking . After further training exercises and a European cruise , " Greer " was assigned to the Pacific Fleet , reaching San Francisco 18 November 1919 . Six months ' duty with the Pacific Fleet terminated 25 March 1920 , when " Greer " sailed to join the Asiatic Fleet . After standing by off Shanghai to protect American lives and property during riots there in May , " Greer " sailed to Port Arthur and Dairen on intelligence missions and returned to Cavite , Philippines , for fleet exercises . The destroyer returned to San Francisco 29 September 1921 via Guam , Midway , and Pearl Harbor . " Greer " decommissioned at San Diego 22 June 1922 , and was placed in reserve . " Greer " recommissioned 31 March 1930 , Commander J . W . Bunkley in command . Operating with the Battle Fleet , she participated in a variety of exercises along the coast from Alaska to Panama , with an occasional voyage to Hawaii . Transferred to the Scouting Fleet 1 February 1931 , she cruised off Panama , Haiti , and Cuba before being attached to the Rotating Reserve from August 1933 to February 1934 . Training exercises , battle practice , and plane guard duty filled " Greer " s peacetime routine for the next 2 years . She sailed for the East Coast and duty with the Training Squadron 3 June 1936 . After conducting Naval Reserve cruises throughout that summer , " Greer " sailed for the Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 September and decommissioned there 13 January 1937 . As war swept across Europe , " Greer " recommissioned 4 October 1939 , Commander J . J . Mahoney in command , and joined Destroyer Division 61 as flagship . After patrolling the East Coast and Caribbean , " Greer " joined the Neutrality Patrol in February 1940 . Detached from this duty 5 October , the destroyer patrolled the Caribbean that winter . She joined other American ships on operations in the North Atlantic early in 1941 , out of Reykjavík , Iceland , and NS Argentia , Newfoundland . United States ships , as non - belligerent s , could not attack Axis submarine s ; but , as the German High Command stepped up the pace of the war through the summer of 1941 , " Greer " found herself involved in an incident which brought America ' s entry into the war nearer . The " Greer " incident , Sept . 1941 . The " " Greer " incident " occurred 4 September . By all accounts , a German submarine ( later identified as ) fired upon the " Greer , " but made no contact . When news of the encounter reached the United States , public concern ran high . Initial reports reported that a British aircraft aided in repelling the attack . In response , Germany claimed " that the attack had not been initiated by the German submarine ; on the contrary , . . . the submarine had been attacked with depth bombs , pursued continuously in the German blockade zone , and assailed by depth bombs until midnight . " The communique implied that the U . S . destroyer had dropped the first depth bombs . Germany accused President Roosevelt of " endeavoring with all the means at his disposal to provoke incidents for the purpose of baiting the American people into the war . " The United States Department of the Navy replied that the German claims were inaccurate and that " the initial attack in the engagement was made by the submarine on the " Greer " . " Roosevelt made the " Greer " incident the principal focus of one of his famed " fireside chats " , where he explained a new order he issued as commander - in - chief that escalated America nearer to outright involvement in the European war . In Roosevelt ' s words : Declaring that Germany had been guilty of " an act of piracy , " President Roosevelt announced what became known as his " shoot - on - sight " order : that Nazi submarines ' " very presence in any waters which America deems vital to its defense constitutes an attack . In the waters which we deem necessary for our defense , American naval vessels and American planes will no longer wait until Axis submarines lurking under the water , or Axis raiders on the surface of the sea , strike their deadly blow — first . " He concluded : Senator David I . Walsh ( Democrat – Massachusetts ) , isolationist Chair of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs , scheduled a committee hearing to unearth the details of the incident , which prompted Admiral Harold R . Stark , Chief of Naval Operations , to issue a written report . Stark ' s account , made public in October 1941 , confirmed that the " Greer " dropped its charges only after the submarine fired its first torpedo at it , but revealed that the " Greer " had gone in search of the submarine after its presence was noted by the British aircraft . Admiral Stark ' s report stated : Stark went on to report that the result of the encounter was undetermined , although most assumed from the German response that the sub had survived . Historian Charles A . Beard would later write that Admiral Stark ' s report to the Senate Committee " made the President ' s statement . . . appear in some respects inadequate , and , in others , incorrect . " In his postwar summary of the Stark report , Beard emphasized that ( 1 ) the " Greer " had chased the sub and held contact with the sub for 3 hours and 28 minutes before the sub fired its first torpedo ; ( 2 ) the " Greer " then lost contact with the sub , searched , and after re - establishing contact two hours later , attacked immediately with depth charges , then ( 3 ) searched for three more hours before proceeding to its destination . The Stark report ' s account of how the " Greer " ' s engagement began caused Pulitzer - prizewinning New York Times reporter Arthur Krock to address it ( and the Nazi sub engagements with the " Kearny " , and the " Reuben James " ) when speaking about " who ' attacked ' whom . " Krock defined the term " attack " as " an onset , an aggressive initiation of combat , a move which is the antithesis of ' defense . ' " " In that definition , " he said , " all three of our destroyers attacked the German submarines . " A 2005 book concluded that Senator Walsh ' s " very aggressive actions in the " USS Greer " case prevented war from breaking out in the Atlantic . " 1941 to 1945 . " Greer " remained in the North Atlantic through 1941 , shepherding convoys to and from MOMP , the mid - ocean meeting point at which American ships took over escort duties from the hard - pressed Royal Navy . After overhaul at Boston , she turned south 3 March 1942 to resume patrol duty in the Caribbean . In addition to regular escort duties , " Greer " performed many other tasks , including rescuing 39 victims of German U - boats . In May she stood guard off Pointe a Pitre , Guadaloupe , trying to keep the Vichy French government from getting to sea . Sailing from Guantanamo Bay 23 January 1943 , " Greer " sailed to Boston then headed for the Atlantic convoy duty . Departing NS Argentia , Newfoundland 1 March 1943 , she escorted merchantmen for Northern Ireland . During heavy North Atlantic gales , Convoy SC - 121 lost seven ships to three separate U - boat attacks before reaching Derry 13 March . " Greer " then escorted 40 merchantmen on the return voyage without incident , and continued on to Hampton Roads 15 April with tanker " Chicopee " . After exercises in Casco Bay , " Greer " departed New York 11 May with a convoy of 83 ships . Reaching Casablanca , Morocco , 1 June , the destroyer patrolled off the North African port and then recrossed the Atlantic , arriving New York 27 June . After another run to Northern Ireland , " Greer " returned to New York 11 August . After steaming to Norfolk , she sailed for the British West Indies 26 August to serve briefly as plane guard to . She rendezvoused with a convoy in the Caribbean and headed for North Africa . Diverted to New York , she docked there 14 September . Routine training exercises turned into tragedy 15 October as " Greer " collided with off the mouth of Indian River , Delaware Capes ( 35 miles ( 56 km ) south - east of Cape May , New Jersey ) . " Moonstone " sank in less than 4 minutes , but " Greer " rescued all the crew but one . After repairs , the destroyer escorted the Free French " Gloire " from New York to Norfolk . " Greer " sailed 26 December with another Casablanca - bound convoy and after an uneventful crossing returned to Boston 9 February 1944 . This was the final transatlantic crossing for the old four - stack destroyer , as she and her sister ships were replaced by newer and faster escorts . Auxiliary service . The veteran destroyer spent the remainder of her long career performing a variety of necessary tasks in American waters . After a tour of submarine training duty at New London , " Greer " became plane guard for several new aircraft carrier s during the summer of 1944 . Operating from various New England ports , she served with , , , and . Sailing to Key West in February 1945 , " Greer " continued plane guard duty until 11 June when she sailed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard . " Greer " decommissioned 19 July 1945 . Her name was struck from the Navy list 13 August and her hull was sold to the Boston Metal Salvage Company of Baltimore , Maryland on 30 November 1945 . Awards . " Greer " received one battle star for her World War II service . As of 2005 , no other ship in the United States Navy has borne this name .