She was built in 1945 for the United States Maritime Commission as SS Marine Adder, a Type C4-S-A3 troop ship, by the Kaiser Company during World War II.

During the Summer of 1972 while in Da Nang Port, South Vietnam, a limpet mine was attached to the vessel by a swimmer, blowing a hole in the hull upon detonation.

Marine Adder was laid down under a United States Maritime Commission contract by the Kaiser Company of Richmond, California on 7 March 1945 and launched on 16 May 1945 sponsored by Mrs. L.

[2] After communist forces invaded South Korea, Marine Adder was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 24 July 1950 and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) on 1 August 1950.

After returning to the west coast in mid-January 1951, she resumed her support of the United Nations Command in Korea less than 2 months later and continued Far Eastern runs during the Korean War.

Between 6 March 1951 and 5 September 1953, she made 17 voyages out of Seattle to ports in Japan and South Korea, including Yokosuka, Sasebo, Pusan, and Inchon.

During the next two months she completed two runs to Japanese and Korean waters; thence, she departed Seattle on 21 August to take part in “Passage‑to‑Freedom” operations along the coast of French Indochina.

Departing on 14 September, she made six runs to Vietnamese ports including Saigon and Tourane, and during the next two months carried refugees, French troops, and military cargo.