"Starling" steamed from Eniwetok to Hawaii and departed Pearl Harbor on 7 October for the U.S. West Coast and a yard overhaul. She arrived at San Francisco, California on 14 October 1944 and remained on the west coast until 1 February 1945 when she sailed, via Pearl Harbor, for the Marshall Islands. The minesweeper arrived in the Marshall Islands on 28 February and was assigned to Minesweeper Group I, TG 52.4, for the invasion of the Ryukyus. She operated off Okinawa from 6 April to 4 May and then sailed for the Philippines. From Leyte, the ship moved to Iwo Jima and back to Okinawa which she reached on 18 August, three days after hostilities ended.