On 23 January 1944, "Stevenson" left Norfolk to join the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Southwest Pacific. Shortly after arriving, she saw her first action, providing gunfire support for the landings on Los Negros Island in the Admiralties on 29 February 1944. For the next five months she took part in the leap-frogging assaults along the New Guinea coast, participating in the landings in Humboldt Bay in April, at Wakde in May, and at Sansapor and Noemfoor in July. On 20 August, "Stevenson" departed New Guinea to join the Palau Islands invasion force. She was employed during the landings as a unit of the transport screen, both en route and at the objective. Upon completion of the Palau operations, she sailed on 14 October for Seattle, Washington, for overhaul.