[1] Dixie sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 20 June 1940 for Pearl Harbor to serve the destroyers of the Battle Force until October, when she cleared for the West Coast and similar operations at San Diego, California.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, she was undergoing overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, and quickly took up the task of readying ships for war service.

She continued her active service alternating flagship duty for Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, at San Diego, with tours in the Far East, based on Sasebo, Japan, or Subic Bay, Philippine Islands.

From the early 1960s to 1982 Dixie was home-ported at Subic Bay in the Philippines where she served as a support ship for destroyers in the 7th Fleet, taking part in contingency operations in Laos in 1959 and Thailand in 1962.

in 1965, the Dixie, alongside a large contingent of the Seventh Fleet, represented the United States of America's official entrance into the Vietnam War.