On December 7, 1941, Patrick was stationed at Pearl Harbor. During the attack that day, his directive that moored ships store live ammunition in their gun mounts would help the U.S. resistance against the Imperial Japanese Navy. He later commanded the destroyer during World War II from commissioning on 20 March 1944 until 20 September 1945 and participated in the Battles of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.