It was not long after arriving in the Med that the USS Ordronaux was to partake in the worlds largest amphibious assault up to that time. Operation "HUSKY" was the name given to the Allied effort to invade the Island of Sicily. Over 3200 ships, boats and craft, 4000 aircraft, and 250,000 troops were positioned in various African ports for the word to go.

The "Mighty O", having had her first taste of combat with an air attack on the 6th of July in Bizerte, found out she would be part of the "DIME" area screening force. This force was to land troops in the vicinity of Gela, Sicily, the "center beach" of the Western Task Force sector; flanked on the right by "CENT" and the left by "JOSS" beachheads.

On the day prior to "D-day" (July 9th, 1943) the USS Ordronaux moved out of Bizerte, Tunisia, prepared to play her part in the invasion. Her orders directed her to protect the western flank of the Gela beachhead by making a night bombardment of an Axis naval base at Porto Empedocle. This would hopefully draw out any German E boat or Italian MAS boats that might threaten the landings. To help destroy these craft, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Fifteen would accompany the O. The Mighty O and her brood arrived off the darkened coast of Sicily around 2300 hours on July 9th (D-day minus one). The PT Boats formed a patrol line towards shore with the Ordronaux at the seaward end. Midnight passed and tension grew as the ship closed in towards land. Great responsibility rested upon the navigator and the surface radar operator to avoid a mine lying near the entrance of the port as well indentifying the correct target area. At 0220 (D-day), the "O" was paralleling the western edge if the mine field. "H" hour was twenty-five minutes away. Suddenly, the first evidence of enemy activity was seen as several searchlights appeared scanning the water for the attack force. Five minutes prior to "H" hour, last minute corrections were put in to the fire control computers and the director placed in automatic. Nearing his closest proximity to the target area, at 0245 (H-hour) Commander Brodie gave the order to "commence firing!". After firing twenty-six salvoes in two and a half minutes, he ordered "cease fire". During this time, the Ordronaux had been illuminated by an enemy searchlight. Never had the crew felt more exposed and vulnerable than when having this blinding light shine in their faces. Immediately fire was shifted to this target and the searchlight was extinguished. Retiring to a patrol line a few minutes later, no further activity was reported in the Porto Empedocle area that morning. Just before sunrise, the "O" started down the coast to rendezvous with an outgoing convoy of LSIs. Twenty minutes later, AA fire was observed from two destroyers on the starboard bow. Two planes were seen to crash. Shortly afterwards the Ordronaux commenced firing on enemy bombers. A report was received over the TBS radio that friendly fighters were overhead. No planes were hit.

Early the following morning, on July 11th, the USS Ordronaux returned to the scene of her first night's action. Again no enemy surface movement was observed. By daylight the ship was ordered to patrol the seaward edge of the fleet anchorage off Gela. All day sporadic attacks were made by enemy aircraft on the fleet. Unfortunately, there were several instances of ships firing on friendly aircraft, the worst of which was the downing of five paratrooper transports late in the evening of the 11th.

From July 12th to the 21st, the USS Ordronaux engaged in various escort and screening duties between the Gela beach head and staging areas in Malta and Tunisia. Except for an attack on a suspected submarine contact and the destruction of some floating mines, these days were relatively uneventful.

That the Mighty O's first offensive acts against the enemy were anti-climatic cannot be argued. She did not get to engage enemy tanks like the Jeffers, Cowie,and Laub did at the Gela landing, nor did she get to take on Axis torpedo boats. But to play down the risk she took in the invasion, is to miss the sobering experience of the USS Maddox DD622, a sister ship. Struck suddenly by bombs from an unseen aircraft, she sank in less than two minutes, taking with her 210 officers and men, including her skipper. This occured as she was patrolling off Gela, just as Ordronaux was withdrawing from her attack at Porto Empedocle. DD617, like so many other ships involved in "Husky" brought credit to themselves by doing the job assigned to them, which in the end is what won the victory.