Following training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 3 and reported for duty on 1 December.

On 21 April she proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia where she served as "schoolship" until assigned on 12 May to TF 63 as escort for convoy UGS-42, en route to Mediterranean ports.

Following refresher training at Casco Bay, Maine Roche departed Norfolk on 22 July with a convoy bound for Bizerte.

Returning from Gibraltar as escort to a Liberty ship under tow, she evaded a German U-boat and arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 9 September for overhaul.

In mid-Atlantic on 13 March 1945, while en route to Southampton, England, Roche rescued 11 men from the water after the collision of USAT J. W. McAndrew and the Béarn.

She transited the Panama Canal on 1 July; and, after taking on supplies and passengers at San Diego, proceeded to Pearl Harbor where she conducted further training exercises.

Just a few minutes after morning quarters on 29 September, a loud explosion shook the ship from stem to stern and was immediately followed by another.

On 18 October a board of inspection and survey decided that Roche was beyond economical repair and recommended that she be cannibalized.