 She was acquired on a loan-charter basis from the War Shipping Administration and placed in service at San Francisco, California, on 26 September 1944.She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, and in November 1944 departed the West Coast in tow for Pearl Harbor.With Service Squadron 8, and later Service Squadron 10, she issued general stores to advanced bases at Eniwetok, Espiritu Santo, Ulithi, Leyte, and was en route to Okinawa during the typhoon at sea 30 September to 2 October.