and traffic control center for landing ships. She remained off Asan until 1 August when she sailed for Hawaii. Stembel arrived at Pearl Harbor on 11 August for tender availability and amphibious training exercises. She sortied with Task Group 33.7 (TG 33.7) (Tractor Group "Able") for Manus via Eniwetok. The task group arrived at Seeadler Harbor on 4 October to make final preparations for the invasion of the Philippine Islands. It sortied on 11 October and entered Leyte Gulf on 19 October. The next morning, Stembel was 4,000 yards off the beaches at Dulag, Leyte, protecting the landing ships and smaller craft against aircraft and submarines. She sailed on 25 October for New Guinea, screening empty transports, and returned to Leyte with a resupply convoy on 18 November. Stembel next proceeded to Manus, joined the escort carrier group of TF 77, and sailed for the Palau Islands. On 10 December, she sortied with TG 77.12 for the western Philippines, entering the Sulu Sea on 13 December. Stembel provided antiaircraft and fire support for the assault on Mindoro until sailing for Leyte Gulf on 26 December 1944. Stembel stood out of San Pedro Bay on 4 January 1945 in the Lingayen Attack Force. The next day, she was ordered to join the escort carrier group. On the 8th, the group was attacked by Japanese kamikaze planes and Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) was holed at the waterline. The destroyer went alongside and removed over 360 men from the disabled carrier. The men were returned to Kitkun Bay the next day as she was proceeding under her own steam, and Stembel began patrolling the entrance to Lingayen Gulf. On 11 January she and four other destroyers were ordered to destroy enemy shipping in San Fernando Harbor. After sinking a 50-foot tugger, an inter-island oiler, and damaging a cargo ship, she withdrew to bombard the town of Rosario the next day. Stembel sailed for San Pedro on 21 January and thence proceeded to Ulithi. She sortied from there on 10 February in the screen of the Amphibious Support Force for the invasion of the Volcano Islands. After staging off Saipan, the DD arrived off Iwo Jima on 16 February where she screened minesweepers, conducted night harassment fire, bombarded the beaches for the troops as they landed, and then supported them with call fire until 7 March. After making voyage repairs at Ulithi Stembel joined the