Prior to her MSTS service, she served as US Army transport USAT Fred C. Ainsworth during World War II.

The ship was originally laid down as SS Pass Christian by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and completed in June 1943.

The ship served actively on troop transportation duties through the 1950s, including trans-Pacific operations during the Korean War.

Fred C. Ainsworth was placed out of service and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on 2 November 1959, after which she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

Instead, she was sold for non-operational use to Inter-Ocean Grain Storage Ltd on 26 June 1973, and physically removed from the Reserve Fleet on 23 August.