for Utah Beach, where she patrolled and provided fire support as troops stormed ashore on D-Day. The veteran destroyer remained off the beach until 29 June, driving off several enemy planes and assisting damaged ships. For the next two weeks she convoyed transports from Belfast to Utah Beach as more troops and supplies were poured into the beachhead, finally departing for the Mediterranean on 16 July. Next on the Allied timetable for the defeat of Germany was another invasion of France, this one in the south. Assigned to screen escort carriers covering the operation, Jeffers departed Malta on 12 August to join her task group. Three days later, as troops landed between Cannes and Toulon, the ship remained with supporting carriers, continuing to cruise off shore until 28 September. She then sailed for New York, arriving on 7 October to prepare for duty in the far Pacific. Pacific service Jeffers was converted to a destroyer-minesweeper at New York, and was reclassified DMS-27 on 15 November. She sailed 3 January 1945 for the Panama Canal and California, arriving San Diego for training on 17 January. In February she moved on to Pearl Harbor and from there to the great advance base at Ulithi to prepare for the Okinawa invasion, last and largest amphibious operation of the war against Japan. As part of the preliminary minesweeping group, Jeffers arrived off Okinawa on 24 March, one week before the landings, and began clearing mines and marking boat lanes. During the assault on 1 April the ship moved to antisubmarine screening and air defense. During the Japanese air attack of 6 April she downed a twin-engine bomber. Six days later, while on radar picket station, she again was under heavy air attack. She downed at least one of the attackers and was nearly hit by a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka as the attack was repulsed. Jeffers then assisted survivors of sunken . The veteran ship steamed into Kerama Retto to repair battle damage later that afternoon, emerging on 16 April to join a carrier group operating off Okinawa in support of ground forces. She then sailed to Guam on 3 May for further repairs. Departing again on 26 June, Jeffers sailed via Saipan and Ulithi to Kerama Retto, and spent the next six weeks on minesweeping operations north of Okinawa. She was at anchor off Okinawa when the news of the Japanese acceptance of terms