"Van Valkenburgh" subsequently departed Norfolk on 2 May; transited the Panama Canal between 20 and 22 May; and reached Yokosuka, Japan, on 17 June, via San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Midway.Leaving Yokosuka in her wake on 22 June, "Van Valkenburgh" spent the next 36 days at sea with Task Force 77 (TF 77), screening the fast carriers as they launched air strikes against Communist forces ashore.