fast carriers and sortied, on 14 March, for an area east of Kyūshū. Air strikes were flown against that island on 18 March; and, on 19 March, against Kyūshū airfields as well as against shipping at Kure and Kobe, Honshū. Stembel rescued two men from a downed plane from Wasp (CV-18) on 18 March and splashed an enemy aircraft the next day. Stembel saved a pilot from Hancock (CV-19) on 26 March and another three days later. Her task group was operating between 60 and 100 miles (100–160 km) east of Okinawa as they launched pre-invasion air strikes against that chain of islands. The ship was forced to return to Ulithi on 11 April for repairs and then rejoined the fast carriers southeast of Okinawa on 21 April. Bunker Hill (CV-17) was hit and severely damaged on the morning of 11 May, and Stembel moved close aboard to aid in extinguishing the carrier's fires. She sailed for San Pedro, P.I., via Guam, for a tender overhaul on 27 May. Stembel sortied from San Pedro on 1 July with TF 38 and operated with the fast carriers in Japanese home waters until 1 September. The destroyer and other fleet surface ships bombarded Kamaishi, Honshū, on 14 July and again on 9 August. On 29 and 30 July, they shelled targets at Hamamatsu, Honshū. On 1 September, the destroyer was detached from the fast carriers and sailed for the United States, arriving at Port Angeles, Wash., on 13 September. She was given a preinactivation overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in November and then steamed down the coast to San Diego. She was decommissioned on 31 May 1946 and attached to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Cold War Stembel joined the active fleet again on 9 November 1951. After refitting, sea trials, and a shakedown cruise, the destroyer stood out of San Diego on 21 June 1952 en route to the Korean War Zone. From 26 July to 2 November, Stembel served with carrier TF 77 in support of United Nations Forces. She served as plane guard for Boxer (CVA-21), assisted Iowa (BB-61) in bombarding Kojo and Wonsan, and patrolled the Taiwan Strait. She returned to San Diego on 5 January 1953, and remained on the west coast until 16 May when she again deployed to Korean waters where she served until 8 December. Stembel deployed to the western Pacific from 17 June