"Halford" turned next to the campaign for the recapture of the Philippines. Joining Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's Fire Group of the Southern Attack Force, "Halford" participated in the pre-invasion bombardments in Leyte Island. Then, on 24 October, when Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid estimated that Admiral Shoji Nishimura's Southern Force would try to enter Leyte Gulf via Surigao Strait, "Halford" prepared for the Battle of Surigao Strait (24 – 25 October 1944). That night and in the early morning hours of 25 October "Halford", as a member of Destroyer Division 112, witnessed virtually the complete destruction of the Japanese Southern Force except for destroyer . American casualties totaled 39 men killed and 114 wounded, most of them in destroyer . Admiral Oldendorf said after the battle, "My theory was that of the old-time gambler: 'Never give a sucker a chance.' If my opponent is foolish enough to come at me with an inferior force, I'm certainly not going to give him an even break."