On New Year's Day 1945, "Stafford" sailed with the task unit from Kossol Roads screening units of Task Force 77 steaming toward Luzon. From Leyte, the task force sailed south through the Surigao Strait, then west along the northern coast of Mindanao, before turning north to skirt the coasts of Negros, Panay, Mindoro, and Luzon. Although air alerts were called from the second day out and reported an unidentified plane's splashing close aboard, the kamikazes did not succeed in crashing a ship until late on 4 January, when one hit . The escort aircraft carrier had to be finished off by American torpedoes. By 5 January, the Japanese had determined that TF 77 was headed for Lingayen; and they intensified their air attacks accordingly. Late that afternoon, the task force, located just northwest of Manila Bay, came under moderately heavy kamikaze attacks.