Three days later, she sailed by way of Kwajalein, Guadalcanal, and Manus for exercises in Milne Bay, New Guinea from 7 to 26 December in preparation for the Lingayen assault.

Arriving 11 January, she remained in the Philippines on escort and patrol duties until 28 February when she cleared for Ulithi to join a convoy carrying garrison troops for Iwo Jima.

Darby was training in the Hawaiian area when the war ended and on 29 August 1945 got underway for San Francisco, carrying servicemen eligible for discharge.

On 19 June, she entered Newport News Shipyard to have advanced anti-submarine weapons installed, then began intensive training and joined in exercises in the Caribbean and Atlantic.

Darby alternated school ship duty at Key West with training in the Virginia Capes area and took part in a midshipmen cruise in the summer of 1954, visiting Dublin, Ireland, and Portsmouth, England.

Between 28 January and 25 April 1958, she called at Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro while on a cruise to survey Ascension Island in connection with missile tracking operations in the South Atlantic.