Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — As the nation marks the anniversary of the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, a quiet cemetery in Waynesville highlights Western North Carolina’s unexpected connection to that moment in history. In Green Hill Cemetery lies William Robert Greer, the U.S. Secret Service agent who was driving the presidential limousine when the shots were fired.

Greer was born in 1909 in County Tyrone, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States as a young man. He worked on farms and later as a chauffeur for families in the Northeast before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he joined the Secret Service. By the early 1960s, he was assigned to the White House detail and trusted to drive the presidential car.

That job placed him in the front seat of history. On Nov. 22, 1963, Greer was behind the wheel of the presidential limousine as the motorcade made its way through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. His movements in those critical seconds are visible in the Zapruder film, the famous 8mm footage that continues to be studied by researchers, journalists and historians. Greer later shared that he believed the first loud noise he heard was a motorcycle backfire and that he accelerated only after realizing the president had been struck.

For decades, his reaction during the shooting has been analyzed and criticized. Some witnesses said the limousine slowed instead of speeding forward after the first shot. Others went further, suggesting Greer was somehow involved in a wider conspiracy. Despite those claims, there has never been any evidence linking him to wrongdoing, and no official investigation found fault beyond the difficulty of reacting to an unprecedented attack.

Following the assassination, Greer continued working for the Secret Service for two years. The physical and emotional toll of the event contributed to his early retirement. Greer found a quieter life when he moved to Waynesville where he remained until his death in 1985.

His grave is modest. Just his name, the years of his life and a small American flag decoration mark the spot. There is nothing to indicate the role he played in one of the most scrutinized tragedies in American history.

As people across the country remember the anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history, Greer’s unassuming headstone offers a reminder. Sometimes ordinary people are pulled into extraordinary moments and spend the rest of their lives navigating the aftermath.

---