On 6 May 1942, she took on 84 survivors of the carrier which had sunk in the aftermath of the Battle of Midway. During the summer of 1942, she operated out of the South Pacific On 3 August 1942, she, along with minesweepers "Gamble" and , were laying mines in Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo. Destroyer entered the strait on escort patrol, having not been notified of the minefield, when she struck one of the mines and sank. "Breese", which was moored in the channel, rendered aid. On 30 September 1942, she was on a nighttime exercise off Espiritu Santo when she was damaged in a collision with the cruiser . She carried out minesweeping duties during the consolidation of the Solomon Islands from 1–13 May 1943, where she was assigned to Task Group 36.5 alongside "Gamble", , and . They laid mined in Blackett Strait to guard the western approaches to Kula Gulf.