Banner loaded cargo and passengers and got underway from the west coast 30 October 1944, putting into Milne Bay, New Guinea, 17 November.

On the 30th she departed Cape Sansapor in company with TG 78.5 en route to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

Banner continued on transport duty until February 1946 when she was assigned as a target vessel for Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.

She underwent preparation for the exercise at San Pedro, California, and Pearl Harbor until 15 May 1946 when she departed for the Marshall Islands.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.