In November 1967 Gurke headed west again via Hawaii and Japan. She operated on Yankee Station, on search and rescue in the northern Gulf of Tonkin, and took part in the Formation Star effort in the Sea of Japan. Rushing south at the start of the 1968 Tet Offensive, she provided Naval Gunfire Support to the US Marines retaking Hue City. She then took some R&R in Hong Kong and participated in Sea Dragon operations along the North Vietnamese Coast. She returned to San Diego in June 1968 after an eight-month West Pac deployment.