1944, Ardent departed San Francisco, California, and headed for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on the 10th and underwent an intensive training period before sailing for the Marshall Islands on 27 January 1945 with Task Group (TG) 51.11, arriving on 5 February at Eniwetok. Two days later, Ardent sailed for Tinian, and reported for duty with TG 52.3 on the 11th. On 13 February, the ship got underway, in company with , , and , to participate in the Iwo Jima campaign. She conducted mine-sweeping operations off that island during the day from 15 to 18 February, and each night, her group retired to screen . During the sweeps, the ships came under intermittent fire from enemy shore batteries, but sustained no damage. On 19 February, Ardent took bomb-damaged in tow and proceeded to the Marianas as escort for a convoy of damaged LCIs. Ship shoots down Japanese planes Upon reaching Saipan on the 25th, the minesweeper embarked 20 marines and loaded 149 sacks of mail for delivery at Iwo Jima. She arrived back at that island on 1 March but shaped a course for Ulithi the next day as escort for Task Unit (TU) 51.29.3. A few weeks later, Ardent got underway with TG 52.4 to take part in the assault on Okinawa. She began mine-sweeping operations on the 24th and continued them through the 31st, the unit to which she was attached destroying 17 mines during this time period. During frequent enemy air attacks, the minesweeper took several Japanese planes under fire. On 26 March, an enemy plane under fire from the nearby fast minelayer started a glide for USS Ardent's stern. The minesweeper opened fire and splashed the plane away. On four occasions on 28 March, Japanese aircraft approached Ardent and her consorts. An adjacent formation shot down the first, from USS Ardent's port beam. Combined fire from Adams and Ardent, as well as other ships in the formation, splashed the second, on the port beam. Ardent opened fire on the third aircraft, and saw it splash, the victim of a barrage put up by a formation of ships on the starboard quarter. USS Adams accounted for the fourth enemy aircraft. Later that same day, the minesweeper struck a mine and sank; Ardent rescued 19 survivors. Okinawa landings Following the completion of mine-sweeping operations, Ardent assumed station on a patrol screen. On L-day, the day of the