End of the war Key West was as far west as PC-1264 ever sailed. The day after her arrival, President Truman announced that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan. With her orders canceled, PC-1264 waited at Key West for three weeks. Eventually, the Bureau of Naval Personnel issued plans for demobilization. Lieutenant Purdon requested to be released from active duty and recommended that Lieutenant (jg) Ernest Hardmann, his executive officer, be given command. On 5 September, orders arrived for PC-1264 to proceed to Norfolk, where Lieutenant Purdon would turn over command to Lt. Hardmann. PC-1264 arrived at Norfolk on 10 September, and the change of command ceremony took place on 17 September. Before this ceremony, members of the crews already were being released from active duty or transferred to other stations. Also, the crew presented Lieutenant Purdon with a desk lamp with the inscription "USS PC 1264 We Will Never Fail." Afterwards, the ship stayed at Norfolk for six more weeks, then moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, just up the Elizabeth River. In early October, PC-1264 was honored by being selected as one of forty-seven representative warships for a review of the fleet by President Truman on Navy Day, 27 October. On 24 October, she sailed from Norfolk to New York, where the review was to be held. Soon after PC-1264 left Norfolk, her new commanding officer, Lieutenant (jg) Jack Sutherland, arrived—after traveling there from New York. He was sent back to New York and arrived there soon after his new command. However, he would not take command until after Navy Day. PC-1264, as the smallest vessel, was at the tail end of the Fleet review. However, President Truman, on board the destroyer , circled PC-1264 and waved to the crew. Both before and after the fleet review, PC-1264 held "open house" for families and friends of the crew and other interested persons, especially from the African-American community which had great pride in the ship's accomplishments. On 31 October, Lieutenant (jg) Sutherland assumed command. On 4 November, the ship sailed for New London, Connecticut, where it spent all of November and half of December assisting in the training of submarine officers, as a target ship for them to practice submarine runs on. On 15 December, PC-1264 returned to Tompkinsville for Christmas leave. While on leave, Ensign Ben Shanker, the executive officer, received orders to the Pacific and