On D-Day, Laffey was part of the Allied invasion fleet, providing artillery support for the troops ashore and anti-submarine protection for the ships bringing in the men and supplies. During an attack on a German artillery position near Cherbourg on June 25, Laffey was hit by a German 11-inch shell, but fortunately the shell had been sabotaged by Czech slave laborers and did not explode.
Transferred to the Pacific after repairs, Laffey took part in the fighting off the Philippines and Iwo Jima, but her greatest moment was off Okinawa on April 16. Fifty Japanese aircraft launched the largest kamikaze attack on a single ship with their target being the Laffey. Twenty-seven aircraft managed to get through the CAP, hitting the Laffey with four bombs, six kamikaze strikes, another kamikaze that bounced off and exploded alongside, and numerous straffings, but she survived. Of the 336 men onboard, 32 were killed and another 71 were wounded, but they managed to bring their ship home.
Repaired and returned to service, Laffey served in the Korean War before being assigned to the Sixth Fleet in the Med for the remainder of her career before being retired in 1968.