northern shore of Hyane Harbor. The troops were landed and Smith provided call fire until that evening when she shuttled more troops to the landing area. On 17 March, Smith, with DesRon 5, departed the South Pacific en route to San Francisco via Pearl Harbor. The overhaul period there was completed by 21 June; and the squadron sailed for Pearl Harbor, spending the next five weeks in training exercises and gunnery practice. On 1 August, Smith was ordered to Eniwetok and patrolled the enemy-occupied Marshall Islands until 24 September when she joined TG 57.9, composed of Cruiser Division 5, and departed for Saipan. The task group began offensive patrols of the Northern Marianas to protect that Central Pacific outpost from enemy attack. Smith returned to Eniwetok in early October, made an escort trip to Ulithi, and then sailed to Hollandia. Smith was attached to the 7th Fleet on 26 October and the next day set course for Leyte Gulf, arriving at San Pedro three days later. She patrolled Leyte Gulf as a unit of TG 77.1 from 1 to 16 November and then escorted a convoy to New Georgia and back. She was ordered to rendezvous on 6 December with the Ormac Attack Group to bombard enemy positions ashore and then to land the 77th Army Division there. The group arrived in the Ormac Bay area the next morning, and Smith was stationed northeast of Ponson Island as fighter director ship. At 0945, enemy aircraft attacked the fleet. At least three kamikazes dived on the destroyers and three on . Both were badly damaged and Mahan was later sunk by friendly gunfire when it was ascertained the fires could not be brought under control or the ship salvaged. Air attacks continued throughout the morning and when the landing force was disembarked, the attack group retired to Leyte. Smith and DesRon 5, departing San Pedro with a resupply echelon for Ormac Bay on 11 December, were attacked that evening in Leyte Gulf by a force of enemy planes. At 1704, Reid was hit by a bomb and a suicide plane. There was a violent explosion, and she heeled over and sank at 1706. Smith downed four of the enemy planes. The next morning, the formation was again attacked by Japanese planes, and the destroyer was hit by a kamikaze which set her afire. No other hits were sustained by the destroyers,