Notes on Secret Service Agent Bill Greer: the Tale of The Tapes

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/palamara/greer.html


Notes on Secret Service Agent Bill Greer: the Tale of The Tapes

by Vince Palamara

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Authors Fred Newcomb and the late Perry Adams interviewed Bill Greer for their unpublished manuscript entitled Murder From Within. It was a 1974 work that took five years to research and write. The authors' only TV appearance was on the now-defunct "Inside Report" on NBC back in May 1990. Their voluminous tome first introduced everyone to body alteration, Zapruder film tampering (as acknowledged by Harrison Livingstone in "Killing Kennedy" and on several pages of Fetzer's "Assassination Science"), Oswald backyard photo fakery (even acknowledged by Jack White in his video The Many Faces of LeeHarvey Oswald and in Jim Marrs' book Crossfire), Dodd Committee/ Seaport Traders/LHO theory (see pages 300 and 528 of Henry Hurt's Reasonable Doubt), and, last but not least, the inane Greer shooting JFK [years before Bill Cooper!] theory (which, like Hickey shooting JFK in Mortal Error, greatly damaged the good work in the rest of the book). Fred Newcomb was also the first to track down the Air Force One transcripts at the LBJ Library back in 1975 (Best Evidence, p. 681) and that one of the Willis photos had possibly been retouched by the FBI (see Who's Who in the JFK Assassination by Michael Benson, p. 310). There is muchthat Newcomb and Adams accomplished, as shown here, but I digress...
They also interviewed the following members of the Dallas Police: Chief Jesse Curry, B.J. Martin, Douglas Jackson, James Chaney, Stavis Ellis, Marion Baker, Joe M. Smith, and Earle V. Brown. Also interviewed were Jean Hill, Bill Newman, Charles Brehm, Ralph Yarborough, Joe H. Rich, Henry Gonzalez, Dean Andrews, Harry Holmes, Roy Kellerman...and, of course, Bill Greer.
Although Greer was interviewed informally by the FBI at the Bethesda morgue on the night of the assassination [RIF#124-10012-10239] and formally on November 27, 1963 at the White House [CD7/ RIF#180-10004-10466]; submitted a Secret Service report of his own [18 H 723]; testified before the Warren Commission on March 9, 1964 [2 H 112-132]; was interviewed by William Manchester on Novemeber 19, 1964 ["Death of a President", p. 671; RIF#180-10116-10119]; interviewed by Jim Bishop for "The Day Kennedy Was Shot" [p. 684]; interviewed November 20, 1967 and January 18, 1971 by David Lifton ["Best Evidence", pages 401 and 448]; interviewed in 1970 by Walt Brown ["Treachery In Dallas", pp. 50-51]; interviewed February 28, 1978 and December 4, 1978 by the HSCA [RIF#180-10099-10491; HSCA Record Number 1211021]; interviewed informally several times by researcher Robert Milner from 1978 until 1985 [author correspondence with Milner 1998]; and by the "Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times", November 6, 1983, the only known audio record to survive to date are the tape recordings form phone calls made from December 6, 1970 and June 26, 1971 for Newcomb & Adams' project, courtesy of researcher Gary Murr. Bill Greer passed away in February 1985 ["Washington Post", February 28, 1985; this author interviewed Greer's son Richard on September 17, 1991, October 7, 1991, and September 23, 1992. An audio tape does exist of the October 7, 1991 interview]. As someone fascinated by the Secret Service, especially in the context of JFK , it is interesting to finally be able to HEAR the voice of a man long studied and since deceased. The total running time of the tape, including both telephonic interviews, is about 45 minutes. A lengthy, word-for-word transcript is beyond the scope of this short paper (and much of it is familiar anyway), but I have decided to point out some of the highlights from this rare recording herein as follows:

• Greer retired in July 1966 after having undergone a stomach operation and Jackie Kennedy sent him a letter thanking him for being with the President until the end.
• He said he "saw blood on Connally's shirt" and looked back only "one time", in direct contrast to the Zapruder film. He went on to say that he "didn't really see the President at all".
• Said the Zapruder film "was proven legitimate".
• Claimed to have not seen anyone on the triple overpass.
• Regarding the assassination itself, Greer claimed that "we never stopped...there was no reason to stop...no need to stop." In regard to the direction of the shots, he said that "everyone was hit from the rear...my back was covered with it [debris from head shot]." When told that Connally has always insisted that he was hit with a different bullet than had hit JFK, Greer said "I feel that way, too. They [the Warren Commission] had lawyers working on it...these lawyers had already made up their mind". Greer also believed that the back wound [which he referred to as being in the "back of the shoulder"] did not go through and that that was also the first thought of the autopsy doctors in attendance.
• Greer claimed he was "in the OPERATING ROOM at Parkland" [emphasis added] and stated that JFK's clothing "were in my custody from Parkland to Washington."
• Greer denied that there was a hole in the limousine's windshield. He said there was only a "star"; a spidering crack.
• Greer did not know why the photographers were out of their usual position in front of and close to JFK's limousine that fateful day in Dallas, but did not seem to regard this as suspicious.
• Regarding agent Roy Kellerman, Greer said twice that he was "a very fine gentleman." Regarding President Kennedy, Greer said "He and I were pretty close friends. He treated me just wonderful."
• Regarding William Manchester and his book "Death of a President", Greer said harshly "He's garbage...didn't like it at all", further commenting on Manchester's criticism concerning his age and reflexes behind the wheel [Greer thought that his experience was an advantage, coming from "years of experience" , and certainly not a disadvantage]. He went on to say that he thought that Jim Bishop's book ("The Day Kennedy Was Shot") was the best book of all regarding the events of November 22, 1963. (However, keep in mind that his comments were made in 1970)
• Greer said, somewhat cryptically, "there's alot of things I know that no one else knows." (!)
• Finally, Greer said that the Warren Commission closed up shop too soon and that "there might have been a conspiracy in another part of the country." [!!!]

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