USS Dale saw action in the Pacific Ocean, right from December 7, 1941. She was involved in fleet activities, escorting ships like the Lexington and the Yorktown, as well as in escort duties.

In early 1943 she was engaged in a fierce cruiser-battle between the Japanese reinforcement-convoy and a US detachment around the Aleutians. She took part in most of the major landings and naval battles in the last years of the war, and was decommissioned on 16 October 1945, stricken 1 November 1945, sold for scrap on 20 December 1946.

USS Dale was awarded 12 Battle Stars for her services.