After
shakedown out of
San Diego,
Harding sailed 1 July for
Norfolk, via the
Panama Canal. Arriving
Hampton Roads on 19 July, she trained in
Chesapeake Bay and off the East Coast. She joined a
convoy at Norfolk on 16 August 1943 and for the next eight months was assigned
antisubmarine patrol for merchant convoys in the Atlantic. During this period of guarding the sea
Harding made three round trips to
Casablanca. After escorting the
battleship on training exercises,
Harding sailed 18 April with a convoy for
Europe, and began her first great combat operation — the
invasion of Normandy. She spent the month of May training with other ships between
Plymouth and
Clyde. Then, early on 6 June 1944,
Harding joined other naval units in the historic assault.
Harding was assigned fire support station, and delivered close gunfire support to the troops ashore for the first hours of the landing. Her accurate gunfire destroyed
pillboxes and
machine gun emplacements, blasting a way for the troops.
Harding also sent a boat ashore at
Pointe du Hoc to take supplies to the
Rangers and bring out prisoners and wounded. She continued operations in the assault area until 16 July, protecting against air attack and assisting several
transports in distress. Shifting her operations to the
Mediterranean,
Harding sailed on 1 August for
Oran,
Algeria, and from there proceeded to the
southern France assault area, as a screening ship. She sailed almost immediately to
Corsica, later returning to take up patrol station outside the assault area in
southern France. On the night of 17 August, she detected a downed
German plane, and after recovering bodies, proceeded to investigate an unidentified contact. As
Hardings signalman sought to illuminate the stranger, a burst of machine-gun fire extinguished the light and revealed the presence of four
E-boats. In company with three other destroyers,
Harding began a running, twisting battle with the four boats, illuminated by
star shell fire, and despite their superior maneuverability, all four were sunk, three by
Harding. She brought survivors ashore and resumed her patrol until 24 August.
Harding joined a convoy of
LCIs en route to Oran, Algeria on 24 August, returned to southern France until 6 September, and sailed for
New York on 25 September 1944. Arriving New York on 3 October, she proceeded to
Boston for conversion to a
destroyer minesweeper; she was reclassified
DMS-28 on 15 November. Emerging on 1 December for her trials,
Harding underwent training until 30 December and sailed for the Pacific. She arrived San Diego via the
Panama Canal Zone on 15 January 1945, and continued her training in minesweeping techniques. Sailing on 10 February via
Pearl Harbor, Harding arrived at
Ulithi on 9 March to prepare for the
invasion of Okinawa, the last and largest of the giant Pacific
amphibious assaults. She departed for
Okinawa on 19 March and began her minesweeping operations in the surrounding areas on 24 March. During the initial landings on 1 April 1945
Harding served as an outer screening ship, and continued this dangerous duty during the savage air attacks which followed. After a near miss by a horizontal bomber during the first heavy raids of 6 April,
Harding was assigned to provide fire support to forces ashore the night of 8 April. She returned to screening duties the next day, and on 16 April was attacked with other ships by four
kamikazes. One was driven off, another shot down, but a third steered directly for
Hardings bridge. As gunfire ripped into her, the aircraft splashed close aboard to starboard, tearing a huge gash in
Hardings side from keel to main deck when her bomb exploded. The stricken ship backed toward
Kerama Retto, counting 14 men killed, 8 missing, and 9 wounded. She repaired at Okinawa, and arrived back at Pearl Harbor on 22 August via
Saipan. From
Hawaii,
Harding transited the Panama Canal via San Diego and arrived at Norfolk on 17 September. She decommissioned on 2 November 1945, and was sold for scrap on 16 April 1947 to Luia Brothers Co., Inc., of
Philadelphia. ==Awards==