The USS Greer (DD–145) was a Wickes-class destroyer built for the United States Navy, launched on August 1, 1918, by William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co. in Philadelphia. She was commissioned at the end of 1918, on December 31. The vessel featured the typical design of the Wickes class, which included a displacement of approximately 1,200 tons, a length of about 314 feet, and armed with four 4-inch guns and torpedoes, designed for fleet screening and patrol duties. Initially, Greer conducted her shakedown operations in the Atlantic, notably rendezvousing with President Woodrow Wilson’s ship, George Washington, after the Versailles Peace Conference. She participated in exercises along the U.S. coast and was assigned to Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, supporting transatlantic seaplane flights, including the historic NC-4 mission. After a European cruise, she joined the Pacific Fleet, reaching San Francisco in November 1919. Later, she was part of the Asiatic Fleet, patrolling off Shanghai during riots and conducting intelligence missions at Port Arthur and Dairen, before returning to the U.S. in September 1921. Greer was decommissioned at San Diego in June 1922 and placed in reserve. Recommissioned in March 1930, Greer operated along the U.S. coast, Hawaii, and the Caribbean, serving with the Battle Fleet and later the Scouting Fleet. She was decommissioned again in January 1937 but was recommissioned in October 1939 as the global conflict intensified. During this period, she participated in neutrality patrols and North Atlantic convoy escort duties, notably becoming involved in the "Greer incident" in September 1941, when she was fired upon by a German U-boat, U-652. This event prompted President Roosevelt to issue the "shoot-on-sight" order, escalating U.S. naval engagement with Axis submarines. Throughout World War II, Greer performed convoy escort duties across the Atlantic, rescuing victims of U-boat attacks and supporting operations in North Africa. She experienced a collision in October 1943 that sank the USS Moonstone but rescued all but one crew member. Later, she served as a plane guard for several aircraft carriers operating out of New England, supporting carrier air operations until her decommissioning in July 1945. Her name was struck from the naval register in August 1945, and she was sold for scrap later that year. The USS Greer remains the only U.S. Navy vessel to bear this name as of 2017.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.