Raymond A. Spruance
After three voyages escorting merchantmen from San Francisco, California, to Pearl Harbor, "Harold C. Thomas" served with ComSubTraPac from 2 to 20 November 1943. Sailing from Pearl Harbor on 20 November with a convoy of merchantmen and cargo ships, she reached Abemama, Gilbert Islands, on 28 November, a week after Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance began the occupation of those islands. "Harold C. Thomas" spent the rest of the year in the Gilberts on patrol and escort duty.