Arriving at New York Navy Yard on 12 May 1917 to be outfitted for foreign service, Cummings sailed on 15 May, reaching the Destroyer Base, Queenstown, Ireland on 26 May.

She served in the cross-channel escort service under Commander, US Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, and also conducted anti-submarine patrols off the southern Irish coast, making contact in 14 encounters.

Cummings departed French waters on 16 December 1918, and from 6–9 April 1919 she joined in destroyer maneuvers and gunnery exercises at Guantanamo Bay.

Transferred to the Treasury Department for the Coast Guard on 6 June 1924, Cummings served as part of the Rum Patrol.

Cummings was returned to the Navy on 23 May 1932 and sold on 22 August 1934 for scrapping in accordance with the London Naval Treaty.