High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Greer (DD–145) was a Wickes class destroyer 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.