His grandfather, John McDougal Atherton, for whom he was named, was an American businessman and politician who was elected to one term in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1869 to 1871.

Upon her arrival there, the destroyer escort assumed anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol duties in waters between St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and the Anegada Passage.

There, she began making daily cruises in Chesapeake Bay to train prospective crew members for destroyer escorts.

On 5 May 1945, while en route from New York to Boston, Atherton along with USS Moberly encountered a U-boat, which was later identified as U-853.

After four depth charge attacks, pieces of broken wood, cork, mattresses, and an oil slick broke the surface.

Proceeding via the Panama Canal and San Diego, Atherton arrived at Pearl Harbor on 29 June 1945.

After stops at Pearl Harbor and San Diego, she transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Jacksonville, Florida, in December.

She was commissioned in Philippine Navy service in 1980 after a refit in South Korea as BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-78).

As of 2016, Rajah Humabon was one of the oldest naval ships still in active service in the world and her hull number was changed again to (PS-11).

[3] It was anticipated that she will become a museum ship at Naval Station Sangley Point after full decommissioning, but after she capsized due to a typhoon in 2022 this was no longer the case and she was instead possibly sold for scrap.

[4] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.