overhaul in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She arrived at San Diego 13 June and spent the following months as plane guard for aircraft carriers training along the California coast. She was then routed on to Pearl Harbor, arriving 8 December 1944. She operated in Hawaiian waters as plane guard for escort carrier Makassar Strait (CVE-91) until 20 February 1945. She then sailed with Rear Admiral Morton L. Deyo's Gunfire and Covering Force, en route via the Marshalls, Marianas and Ulithi for the invasion of Okinawa. Gillis arrived off Kerama Retto 25 March 1945. She guarded minesweepers to the west, then stood by underwater demolition teams clearing approaches to the western beaches of Okinawa. After invasion forces stormed ashore 1 April, she tended observation and patrol planes at Kerama Retto and performed air-sea rescue patrol. On 28 April she departed Okinawa in the screen of Makassar Strait, bound via Guam to San Pedro Bay, Philippine Islands. She returned by the same route in the escort screen of Wake Island (CVE-65). That carrier launched planes 29 June to land bases on Okinawa and Gillis helped escort her back to Guam 3 July 1945. Fate Gillis departed Guam for home 8 July 1945. She arrived at San Pedro, California, 28 July and decommissioned there 15 October 1945. Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping 29 January 1946. Gillis received two battle stars for service in World War II. References External links http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/260.htm Clemson-class destroyers Seaplane tenders of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign