Kammala wannan jumla: Bayan bala'in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz ne ya sauya Kimmel, wanda ya riƙe dukkan ma'aikatan Kimmel. McCormick ya zama jami'in shirin yaki na Nimitz a watan Afrilu na shekarar 1942, yana aiki a wannan matsayin a lokacin yakin da aka yi a
Tekun Coral, Midway, da kuma Guadalcanal. A ranar 30 ga Yuni, 1942, McCormick ya ji rauni a wani hadarin jirgin ruwa yayin da yake tare da Nimitz zuwa Alameda Naval Air Station. Duk da fama da karaya a kashin baya, McCormick bai taba shiga cikin jerin marasa lafiya ba, yana zabar ci gaba da aiki yayin da yake saka gilashi na watanni uku.