From 17 September 1918 to 4 March 1919 the ship was commissioned as USS Absaroka with the identification number IX-2581 in United States Navy and operated by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.

[2] Between October 1918 and February 1919, the ship made two transatlantic voyages carrying Army cargo to ports in France, England, and the Netherlands.

During her second trip, Absaroka rescued the captain and crew of the disabled British steamer War Marvel and landed them safely at Falmouth, England.

[3][2][7][8][note 1] Absaroka was torpedoed and damaged by the Japanese submarine I-19 off Point Fermin, California, and beached off Fort MacArthur on 24 December 1941.

[9][10][11] Other ships attacked during this event were Agwiworld, Samoa escaped shelling and torpedoes as did Barbara Olson, Dorothy Phillips, Connecticut and Idaho but with damage.

[16][17][18][note 2] In 1948 the vessel was sold to Primavista Compañia de Navegación S.A., under the management of Pietro Ruggiero, and remaining under the Panamanian flag as Panenterprise.

[17][18][20] The ship was broken up in 1954, either by Patapsco Scrap Company at Baltimore, or by Shipbreaking Industries Ltd, Faslane, Scotland, arriving on 9 April.