The next day, she got underway for Hollandia where she took up escort work, ensuring the safe arrival of reinforcements at Leyte. Then she sailed back to the Solomons for rehearsals for the assault on Luzon. Clearing Guadalcanal on 25 December, she screened transports to Manus, continuing on to Lingayen Gulf with them on 2 January 1945. She entered the gulf on 11 January. There, until the 14th, she provided close fire support and met the attacks of "kamikazes" with skill. She then joined the fast carriers for strikes in support of the Iwo Jima offensive. By 16 February, she was 72 miles (133 km) off Honshū, screening the carriers as their planes struck at the Tokyo-Yokohama area, thus keeping Japanese planes at home while landings were made on Iwo. The force next moved south to provide air cover over the embattled island. On the 21st, "McNair" helped fight off "kamikaze" and torpedo planes, splashing two of the latter, and then escorted her to Eniwetok for repairs.