USS Nields (DD-616) - 1945

1945

Arriving at Boston on 19 September to commence an availability, Nields conducted refresher training out of Casco Bay and escorted Guam to Norfolk, Virginia, arriving there on 27 October. Nields completed two more North African convoy assignments, with UGS-59 and UGF-19, before she rejoined the 8th Fleet on 16 January 1945. She then resumed Mediterranean escort duties until 9 April when she reported to Senior Officer, Allied Destroyers, Flank Force, for patrol duty in the Ligurian Sea. Operating with that force for 10 days, she supported a motor torpedo boat attack at Vada on the 11th and assisted in a bombardment of the Bordighera area on the 17th. Relieved by Kendrick on the 19th, Nields proceeded to Oran, thence to the United States, arriving at New York on 1 May.

Undergoing availability (extended to 3 July in order to effect repairs to her high pressure steam turbines) as hostilities ended in Europe, Nields next trained at Guantanamo Bay for duty in the Pacific. On 20 July, she got underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 August, less than a week before V-J Day. Assigned to occupation duty, Nields departed Hawaii on 21 August, shaping a course for Eniwetok, in the Marshalls, and Saipan, in the Marianas; she picked up Lunga Point at the latter place and escorted her to Okinawa, where Nields joined Destroyer Squadron 12 at Buckner Bay.