Whipple departed the west coast on 16 October, bound for her new home port, Pearl Harbor, and duty with the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet.

Soon after her arrival on 22 October, she commenced local operations in the Hawaiian area which lasted until 20 November when she tied up alongside tender Bryce Canyon for availability which ran until 4 December.

Five days later, while engaged in local operations, the destroyer escort investigated an unidentified submarine contact off the Barking Sands Missile Test Range, Kauai.

A dependents' cruise to Lahaina, a Navy Day "open house," and host-ship duties to Australian destroyer HMAS Hobart occupied Whipple through 25 October, after which time she conducted further trials and gunnery shoots.

Upon detachment from "Seahawk," Whipple stopped at Subic Bay for maintenance prior to proceeding to the Gulf of Tonkin to relieve the destroyer Higbee as Positive Identification and Radar Advisory Zone (PIRAZ) ship.

Her PIRAZ work during this time was light, as reduced air activity over North Vietnam was accomplished by low visibility and a cancellation of many scheduled flights.

While Whipple operated in company with the destroyer Parsons on PIRAZ duties, the escort ship's electronic "eyes" maintained the air "picture" for the northern half of the Gulf of Tonkin.

The destroyer escort next took up plane-guard duties for the carrier Hancock before providing gunfire support in Military Region 1 for the South Vietnamese Army's 3d Division.

On some occasions, Whipple operated in conjunction with aerial spotters who directed the destroyer escort's fire on enemy troop movements, coastal defense guns, artillery sites, and tanks.

After a brief period planeguarding on "Dixie" and "Yankee" stations for Hancock, Whipple received a needed upkeep at Danang from 3 to 10 May while the destroyer tender Piedmont replaced the escort's 5-inch (127 mm) gun.

Following availability at Subic Bay and a visit to Hong Kong, Whipple returned to the line and provided gunfire support in the vicinity of Point "Claudia" for the Republic of Vietnam's 1st and 3d Divisions.

From 17 to 25 June, she fired harassment and interdiction missions at night and made runs during daylight hours in which she was aided by OV-1 Mohawks which pinpointed enemy bunker complexes, rocket sites, and supply routes.

Coastal defense sites in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and point targets in the Cua Viet River region felt the sting of salvos she fired in preparation for a South Vietnamese Marine Corps counter-offensive.

En route, heavy seas damaged the fiberglass 5-inch (127 mm) gun shield, forcing a change of plans and a return to Subic Bay.

Upon relief by the destroyer James E. Kyes as screen commander, Whipple put about for the Philippines and joined her squadron mates for the homeward-bound voyage to Pearl Harbor.

Whipple conducted post-availability shakedown in January 1973 and commenced a period of routine training and exercises which continued until 14 May when the destroyer escort departed Pearl Harbor for her second WestPac deployment.

Availability alongside tender Prairie preceded the escort ship's deployment in Vietnamese waters, and she departed Taiwan on 5 June, bound for "Yankee Station."

Whipple visited Hong Kong from 1 to 8 August and screened Coral Sea back to Subic Bay before returning to Tonkin Gulf for picket-escort and PIRAZ duties.

She got underway on 20 November; made brief stops at Guam and Midway for refueling; and, in company with her squadron mates, steamed single-file into Pearl Harbor on 7 December.

Her crew distributed "Project-Handclasp" material, painted a school, and topped off her visit with an unusual and time-consuming refuelling operation—a three-day, round-the-clock affair—utilizing tanker trucks.

Detached from TG 77.5 on 27 January, Whipple conducted ASW exercises with Reasoner before rejoining Coral Sea and planeguarding and steaming in company with the carrier through 2 February.

Following post-deployment standdown, Whipple resumed training operations in the Hawaiian area until December when she entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability.

As Whipple turned and dipped into the seas for Hong Kong, one of the English-speaking refugees sloshed through the radar room with an escort to the bridge for an interview with the captain.

Whipple appeared in Season 4, Episode 23, of Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), titled, "Follow the White Brick Road," as the fictional USS John Haskell.