Stevens completed shakedown in the Atlantic during the spring of 1943, then escorted coastal convoys before heading for the Panama Canal in July.

By that time, American industrial prowess was beginning to produce and put into action the powerful naval force which, within two years, brought the Japanese Empire to its knees.

She stopped at Funafuti, in the Ellice Islands, from 8 to 13 February; then joined Lang (DD-399), Hogan (DD-178), Hamilton (DD-141), and Stansbury (DD-180) to screen Transport Divisions 24 and 26.

The convoy divided on the 15th, and the Guadalcanal detachment, consisting of Stevens and Lang screening DuPage (APA-41), Aquarius (AKA-16), and Almaack (AK-27), arrived off Koli Point three days later.

On 4 March, she screened the merchantman into Tulagi harbor; fueled at nearby Port Purvis on Florida Island; then took station ahead of SS Mormacwren for a voyage to Efate.

The Stevens put into Havannah Harbor on 5 March after parting company with the merchantman, which continued on independently to Auckland, New Zealand.

Consequently, the naval bombardment, during which the Stevens concentrated on the islands of Nusa and Nusalik, was the only phase of the operation carried out, but it was nevertheless highly effective.

Samuel Eliot Morison quotes Japanese sources which attest to the "demoralizing" effect of the bombardments, in which Stevens, two escort carriers, and 14 other destroyers joined the battleships New Mexico (BB-40), Mississippi (BB-41), Tennessee (BB-43), and Idaho (BB-42).

TG 77.4, the second echelon of the Hollandia invasion force, divided on [22 April, and the Stevens screened the western reinforcement group while its troops landed at Tanamerah Bay.

This small convoy reached its destination on 18 September; and the following day, Stevens joined McKee (DD-575) in the screen of another echelon bound for Morotai.

During that time, she continued her various patrols; fought off air attacks; and, after 25 September, served as headquarters for the landing craft control officer.

After a six-day voyage, the convoy arrived in Leyte Gulf, and the Stevens refueled before escorting TG 78.10 back to New Guinea.

From 9 December 1944, until 7 June 1945, Stevens operated primarily in the Philippines; her only break being a voyage from Lingayen Gulf to Manus; she then proceeded back via Hollandia to Leyte, where she remained from 13 February to 4 March.

Between 27 December 1944 and 1 January 1945, while screening a resupply echelon (TU 78.3.15) to Mindoro and back, the Stevens shot down three enemy planes during frequent air attacks that occurred in the area.

After returning from a voyage to Manus and Hollandia, back to the Philippines, she put into Manila Bay, Luzon, on 6 March, and on the 9th, she headed for Lingayen Gulf.

She refueled at Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, that day, and then got underway with the cruiser Cleveland, and the destroyers Conway, and Eaton to support the landings at Iloilo on Panay Island from 18 to 20 March.

She spent the following month in the Manila Bay-Subic Bay area, engaged in exercises, upkeep, repairs, and shore leave.

The Stevens conducted tactical and anti-submarine warfare [ASW] exercises in the Manila Bay-Subic Bay area of Luzon for the duration of the War in the Pacific.

On 28 August 1945, almost two weeks after the cessation of hostilities, Stevens departed from Subic Bay with TG 71.1 and headed for the Yellow Sea and western Korea.

On 30 August, the Stevens, Bell, and Burns were dispatched to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where they reported to Carrier Division 5 for duty.

There, she assisted in the internment of Japanese ships until 29 September; then she shifted to Taku Bar where she supported troop landings until 6 October.

On 8 November 1945, after discharging her passengers, the Stevens steamed to San Pedro, Los Angeles, and there reported for duty to the 19th (Reserve) Fleet for a deactivation overhaul.