USS Patterson, a 1500-ton Bagley class destroyer, was built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. Commissioned in September 1937, she soon made a shakedown voyage to San Francisco, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Over the next three years, the destroyer participated in U.S. Fleet maneuvers off the west coast, in the Caribbean and in Hawaiian waters. Beginning in 1940, she was based at Pearl Harbor, where she was moored during the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack that opened the great Pacific war.

During the war's first four months, Patterson patrolled in the Hawaii area, escorted reinforcement convoys and screened aircraft carrier task forces. After an overhaul, in May 1942 she went to the south Pacific where, in August, she took part in the operation to capture Guadlacanal and Tulagi. On 9 August she engaged Japanese warships during the Battle of Savo Island, receiving shell hits that killed ten of her crew and damaged her two after five-inch guns. Patterson was mainly employed as an escort for shipping and aircraft carriers during the intense and bloody campaign to retain custody of Guadalcanal and extend Allied domination into the central Solomons. She also conducted a bombardment mission near Munda, New Georgia, on 25 July 1943 and helped cover the Vella Lavella landings in September. While attacking Japanese barges on 29-30 September, she was badly damaged in a collision with USS McCalla (DD-488), necessitating a long trip back to the United States for repairs.

Patterson returned to the war zone in March 1944 and participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June and the Marianas campaign from then into August. During the rest of the year, the destroyer was involved in the Palaus campaign, raids on Japanese bases in the western Pacific, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Mindoro invasion. In 1945, she took part in the Lingayen operation, the Iwo Jima landings and the long campaign in the Ryukyus. She concluded the war with escort and patrol work in the central and western Pacific.

In late September 1945, after Japan's surrender, Patterson returned to the United States and soon passed through the Panama Canal en route to New York. Decommissioned there in November 1945, the now-outdated destroyer was sold for scrapping in August 1947.