Taking up firing position inside the lagoon 2 February, she provided gunfire support for the advancing Marines until the island was secured 3 days later.

She also worked occasionally with minecraft and screened a minelaying operation 9 May in the Solomons, passing within 800 yards of an enemy-held beach on Buka Passage.

With the landing on Guam of Marines 21 July, the destroyer turned to close fire support, lending her gunfire to the battle ashore.

Haggard was withdrawn from Guam to Espiritu Santo on 24 August 1944 and later joined the Western Escort Carrier Group off the Solomons.

During the invasion of Peleliu 15 September Haggard screened carrier groups as they provided bombardment and close fire support for Marines ashore.

She was assigned to an escort carrier group off Samar in support of the invasion of Leyte and the fleet surface actions 23–25 October.

As the carriers of "Taffy 3" (TU 77.4.3) retired at top speed, the destroyers, including Hoel (DD-533), Heermann (DD-532), and Johnston, attacked the Japanese at close range, while planes from both carrier groups attacked repeatedly in the hope of diverting the overwhelming Japanese force and allowing the American light units to escape.

With the Pacific campaign then reaching its climax, Haggard sortied again with Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's 5th Fleet carriers for attacks on Japan.

After fueling at sea, the fast carrier group, moved toward Okinawa on 22 March, with Haggard acting as picket destroyer ahead of the formation.

Again occupied with screening carriers in the area, Haggard and other fleet units were constantly threatened by suicide planes as the Japanese tried desperately to stop the invasion.

While proceeding to picket station 29 April the ship was attacked by a kamikaze making a shallow dive to starboard which crashed close aboard and penetrated her hull near the waterline.

Wounded were taken by the cruiser San Diego while the destroyer Walker arrived to tow the stricken ship to Kerama Retto, near Okinawa.