USS Macdonough, a 1395-ton Farragut class destroyer, was built at the Boston Navy Yard. She was commissioned in March 1935 and shook down with a voyage to Europe and South America before beginning regular fleet operations in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor became her home port in 1939 and she was moored there on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese surprise attack took place. During the ensuing Pacific war's first several months, Macdonough was employed on patrol and escort duties between the U.S. west coast, Hawaii and the south Pacific. In the war's first major offensive operation, the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in early August 1942, the destroyer operated with USS Saratoga , and stayed in that carrier's screen in subsequent weeks, taking part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the engagement with a Japanese submarine that resulted in Saratoga being torpedoed at the end of August.

During September, October and November 1942, Macdonough supported the ongoing Guadalcanal Campaign with shore bombardment and escort services. Following an overhaul, in April 1943 she joined the forces undertaking the campaign to recover the Aleutian Islands, but was damaged in a collision that put her back in the shipyard until September. She participated in the invasions of Makin in November 1943 and the Marshall Islands in January-February 1944. On 15 February, while off Kwajalein Atoll, Macdonough assisted in sinking the Japanese submarine RO-40.

After the Marshalls were taken, Macdonough took part in central Pacific carrier strikes and New Guinea amphibious assaults. On 30 April 1944 she helped destroy another enemy submarine, the RO-45. While engaged in the Marianas invasion from early June until early August, she bombarded shore positions, supported underwater demolition teams, made anti-submarine patrols and served as an escort for carrier task forces. Later in the year, she shepherded transports during the Leyte landings, stood guard in southern Philippines waters and escorted logistics shipping.

Macdonough was overhauled during the first part of 1945, then served as a radar picket ship and escort in the central and western Pacific. She returned to the United States in early September, immediately after the war ended, and soon went on to the east coast. Decommissioned in October 1945, USS Macdonough was sold for scrapping in December 1946.