Fullam served briefly as an east coast escort, then arrived at
San Diego, California, 28 June 1943. After training in the
Hawaiian Islands, she arrived at
Efate,
New Hebrides, 28 August for escort and patrol duties in the
Solomons. From 1 November, when she covered the landings on
Cape Torokina,
Fullam guarded convoys carrying reinforcements and supplies to
Bougainville as well as bombarding enemy installations in the
Empress Augusta Bay area 25 January 1944. Four days later, at
Vella Lavella, transports
Fullam screened, embarked a mixed reconnaissance party of
New Zealanders and American sailors, which was landed on the
Green Islands, 30 January. The party was reembarked that night, and the landings in force by New Zealand troops on the Green Islands took place 15 February, as
Fullam and her task force provided protective cover. Through the next 3 months,
Fullam continued her patrol, escort, and bombardment missions in the Solomons, joining in the
landings on Emirau 20 March 1944. After training and replenishment at
Port Purvis on
Florida Island in the
Solomons, and at
Espiritu Santo, the destroyer joined the
5th Fleet for the assault on the
Marianas. She arrived off
Tinian 12 June for the bombardments on Tinian and
Saipan which began the next day and continued until the landings of 15th. Ordered west to search for an enemy task force known to be moving into position to oppose the landings,
Fullam rejoined the carrier task force 19 June as the
Battle of the Philippine Sea opened. During this 2-day engagement, she joined in the general firing which combined with fighter actions brought down the vast majority of the
Japanese naval aviation as an effective element in the war. Completing her assignment in the Marianas with duty screening the cruisers bombarding Guam as well as firing on targets there herself,
Fullam departed the Marianas 10 August for Eniwetok. After training at Guadalcanal,
Fullam sortied from Port Purvis 6 September 1944 for the assault on the
Palau Islands. Six days out, she and
Noa (APD-24) collided,
Noa sinking in 6 hours, and
Fullam being badly damaged. Despite this,
Fullam not only rescued all of ''Noa's'' men, but also carried out daily shore bombardment and night harassing fire, as well as covering the work of underwater demolition teams, as
Peleliu was assaulted, then sailed for temporary repairs at
Manus and a west coast overhaul.
Fullam returned to
Pearl Harbor for training 24 December 1944, then sailed for picket duty off
Pagan Island before reaching Saipan 15 February 1945. Here she joined a task group for the
Iwo Jima assault, sailing 16 February to serve as screen and fire-support ship during the assault and the bitter fighting which followed until 28 February. After replenishing at
Leyte, she sailed 27 March in the screen of an escort carrier group for the
Okinawa operation. After providing air cover to the landings of 1 April, her group began continual strikes on the airfields on the
Sakashima Clunto from which suicide flights were launched by the Japanese. On 4 May, while screening
Sangamon (CVE-26) with another destroyer,
Fullam fired on a group of four
kamikazes attacking the carrier. The screening destroyers shot down three of the attackers, but the fourth crashed the
escort carrier's flight deck, forcing many of her men over the side. Three were saved by the destroyers, who stood by as
Sangamon extinguished the huge fire. From 13 May 1945,
Fullam was assigned to antisubmarine patrol and antiaircraft fire support off
Hagushi Beach, as well as antiaircraft fire support ship for fighter-director ships on radar picket stations away from the island. She sailed from Okinawa 1 July to escort landing craft to
Guam, and an escort carrier from Guam to Eniwetok. Assigned to operate with carriers against northern Japan,
Fullam cleared Eniwetok 11 August for
Adak, but arriving after the close of hostilities, instead took up escort and patrol duties in the
Aleutians until entering
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 13 November. In March 1946 she sailed south to San Diego, where she was placed out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947. ==Honors==