During most of this period the Middle East flagship duty rotated between "Duxbury Bay" and two other "Barnegat"-class ships, and , all eventually painted white and specially fitted for the purpose. "Duxbury Bay"s Middle East service was highlighted by a number of important diplomatic missions. During her 1951 tour, her crew members served on security patrol and as messengers for the Southeast Asia Treaty Conference at Ceylon at which Commander, Middle East Force, represented the United States Department of Defense. She was visited by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in February 1953 and transported him to French Somaliland. Homeward bound during her 1954-1955 tour, she sailed by way of Mombasa, Kenya; Durban, Union of South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for good-will visits. During her next cruise, in January 1958, "Duxbury Bay" joined in flood relief at Ceylon. "Duxbury Bay" paid a special call to Karachi, Pakistan, in December 1959 on the occasion of the visit of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to India and Pakistan. During the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, "Duxbury Bay" participated in the evacuation of civilians from the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. During May 1963 "Duxbury Bay" participated in Project Mercury as a recovery ship for the final Mercury space mission, the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission flown by Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr.. "Duxbury Bay" was decommissioned on 30 April 1966, only a few months after returning from her last deployment, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1966. She was sold for scrap in July 1967.