Early Life 

William Greer was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1910. His family emigrated to the United States in 1929. He worked as a farm laborer before moving to Boston where he became a chauffeur.

He spent over a decade working as a chauffeur for wealthy families in Boston and NY. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor Greer enlisted in the US Navy. He was assigned to the presidential yacht in May 1944. After that assignment, he officially joined the United States Secret Service in October 1945.

Greer accompanying JFK

Post WWII

Due to his past as a chauffeur, Greer never became a highly trained, highly educated agent. With a 10th grade education, he was a chauffeur by trade, and after joining the Secret Service was assigned as a uniformed officer, working at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

After the first few years in the agency, Greer joined the staff of the White House in November 1950. His first assignments were to run errands for the White House kitchen. Over the next thirteen years, he worked as a chauffeur for Harry S. Truman and Dwight Eisenhower prior to JFK. He became John F. Kennedy driver after the 1960 election through simple seniority.

Greer says in his testimony "I was the senior agent assigned to him, to drive him". In other words, he was not assigned a protection responsibility, he was simply a driver.

Greer took a role close to Kennedy and can be seen in several pictures with the Kennedy family. He chauffeured the president on many occasions, including the day of the assassination.

Greer started driving the Presidential limousine from the point of contact in Love Field, Dallas into downtown Dallas. 

The Presidential car had President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Governor Connally and his wife all seated in the back. Seating to the right of Greer in the front seat was the lead Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman in the front seat. 

Details behind the driver's testimony at the time of the shooting

During the Shooting

Greer recalls that he thought the first shot was a misfire from one of the motorcycles surrounding the car. It was not until the second shot where he turned around only to see Gov. Connally falling forward. 

Right after the second shot, he was instructed to speed up to flee the area. Greer did not act on instinct because it is Secret Service protocol to wait for instructions from a superior agent. 

Roy Kellerman shouts "Get out of here fast" and in the midst of a traumatic experience, Greer started following the Dallas Police Force motorcade that was clearing away the traffic. 

Greer was immediately instructed to follow the police towards Parkland Hospital. Once arriving, he assisted the doctors with transporting the body to the nearest ER. 

The Criticism That Followed After The Assassination

Right after the first shot occurred, Greer did not fully understood the situation and stalled the car rather than accelerate and drive away from the threat. Due to the lack of immediate action within seconds of the first shot, Greer receives a lot of criticism from other members of the Presidential motorcade:

James Chaney (one of the four Presidential motorcyclists) - stated that the limousine "after the shooting, from the time the first shot rang out, the car stopped completely, pulled to the left and stopped." Mary Woodward, a journalist with the Dallas Morning News wrote: "Instead of speeding up the car, the car came to a halt... after the first shot".

Kenneth O'Donnel (Special Assistant to Kennedy), who was riding in the motorcade, later wrote: "If the Secret Service men in the front had reacted quicker to the first two shots at the President's car, if the driver had stepped on the gas before instead of after the fatal third shot was fired, would President Kennedy be alive today?

Senator Ralph Yarborough, who was riding with Lyndon B. Johnson was highly critical of the actions of Greer: "When the noise of the shot was heard, the motorcade slowed to what seemed to me a complete stop... After the third shot was fired, but only after the third shot was fired, the cavalcade speeded up, gained speed rapidly, and roared away to the Parkland Hospital... The cars all stopped... 'I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but for the protection of future Presidents, they (the Secret Service) should be trained to take off when a shot is fired."

Target of conspiracies

He became the target of many conspiracy theories. Many people thought the hesitation between the shots was due to Greer turning around and firing the second and/or third shot at the President. Most of the theories were debunked, however, it did not stop people and newspapers publishing their headlines. 

On July 2nd, 1966, The Washington Post published an article confirming the retirement of US Secret Service Agent and driver of the Presidential Limousine William Greer.

Retirement 

William Greer retired three and half years after the shooting of President Kennedy, after a long 21 years of service with the US Secret Service. The reason for retiring was due to a stomach ulcer that grew worse following the Kennedy assassination.

On July 2nd, 1966, The Washington Post published an article confirming the retirement of US Secret Service Agent and driver of the Presidential Limousine William Greer. In the article, there are quotes by Agent Greer describing some of the emotional moments and the events during the tragic JFK shooting in Dallas. 

The quotes describe his close relationship with the Kennedy's and his role during and after the assassination. 

William Greer obituary

Life After

After retiring, Greer moved to Waynesville where he was active in many community affairs. He was a member of First United Methodist Church and other organizations. He was a member of Association of Former Agents of US Secret Service, Inc. 

After turning 70, he was diagnosed with cancer. In 1985, William Greer passed away due to his cancer. He was 75 years old.