Arriving Norfolk on 8 October, the ship joined Admiral William D. Leahy's flagship, USS Wisconsin, and other units for a cruise to Chile and Venezuela.

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., then returned to Korea arriving off Wonsan on 20 May to take up bombardment station in support of the Allied siege and occupation of harbor islands.

This duty continued until 13 June, a period of almost constant bombardment of great importance to the operation, after which the ship steamed to Sasebo.

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. did not return to the West Coast immediately upon the termination of this combat duty, but instead steamed westward to complete a circumnavigation of the globe.

Antisubmarine training exercises and another Mediterranean cruise January – May 1954 comprised her duty through most of 1955, and she sailed on 5 November for Arctic maneuvers off northern Europe.

The ship visited Oslo, Norway, and Bremerhaven, West Germany, carrying out tactical exercises with units of the 6th Fleet before returning to Newport on 5 March 1956.

In June 1956, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. arrived at Annapolis with battleships Iowa and New Jersey to embark United States Naval Academy midshipmen for a training cruise.

The Jordanian crisis[clarification needed] had just passed with the strong support of the fleet, and Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. took part in carrier operations until September, when she steamed to the coast of Norway for NATO joint maneuvers.

Again in 1958 the ship sailed to the Mediterranean, and on this cruise spent April in the Persian Gulf with the Middle East Force before arriving back to Newport on 1 July 1958.

Following the ceremonies, in which both President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II took part, the destroyer entered the Seaway and steamed to Chicago on 2 July.

During this period she received the latest in antisubmarine gear, a new helicopter flight deck and hangar aft, and numerous other modifications designed to increase her useful life.

Sailing on 22 October, the ship took an active part in the blockade that forced an easing of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and on 26 October under the command of Commander Nicholas S. Mikhalevsky sent a boarding party to the Lebanese Liberty ship Marucla After participating in this graphic demonstration of the power and mobility of the US Navy, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. remained on patrol in the Caribbean until returning to Newport on 7 December 1962.

Late in January 1965, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., put to sea for Port Canaveral, Florida, where she helped qualify two newly constructed Polaris submarines for patrol overseas.

After arriving at Gibraltar on 24 February, she participated during the next four months in AAW and ASW operations and ranged the Mediterranean from the North African coast to Turkey.

After decommissioning, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1973 and removed to Fall River, Massachusetts, as a unit of the Battleship Cove Museum.

In the spring of 2000, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was brought to Rhode Island Sound for the movie Thirteen Days, portraying both herself and John R. Pierce.