She was forced to stop at Purvis Bay, Florida Island, for engine repairs, but finally reached Finschhafen on 14 November.

She anchored in the Lingayen Gulf transport area on 11 January and began discharging troops east of San Fabian.

On 27 March, the ship left with Transport Squadron (TransRon) 13 of the Southern Assault Force, bound for Okinawa.

The ship set sail on 16 June for Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, and continued on to Guam in mid-July.

Following a stop at Guam, she moved to Saipan where she took on elements of the 2nd Marine Division scheduled for occupation duties in Japan.

Five days later, the ship sailed to the Philippines and carried troops from Subic Bay and Manila to Sasebo, Japan.

Appling left Sasebo on 19 October and set a course back to the United States carrying homecoming veterans.

Appling sailed back to the Philippines in early January 1946 to carry more troops home to the United States.

Appling was next assigned to the target fleet for Operation Crossroads, tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands to determine the effects of atomic bomb explosions upon ships.