Within 48 hours "McGowan" was underway for Hollandia, from where she screened convoys to the Philippines until after the Mindoro landings in December. She sailed into Lingayen Gulf, 11 January 1945, to take part in the Luzon offensive. As part of the antiaircraft screen off the San Fabian beachhead, she warded off the kamikaze suicide planes of the Japanese Special Attack Corps until the 14th, when she returned to escort work.