She engaged in more training and shakedown exercises, including, "gunnery, towing, night steaming, fueling at sea, damage control, and other operational and combat procedures" preparing for the invasion of Iwo Jima.

Repairs kept her grounded until 6 April 1945, when she joined the Transport Division (TransDiv) 51 and proceeded to shuttle troops and cargo between the Marshalls, Marianas, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and New Guinea, making a trip to San Francisco in May.

On 2 September 1945, she was present in Tokyo Bay during the Surrender of Japan formal ceremony, passing past USS Missouri (BB-63) in a convoy of Allied ships.

During the early months of 1946, she made several voyages between the ports of California and the Pacific islands as part of the so-called Magic Carpet Fleet, returning American troops to the United States.

She survived two atomic blasts in the target area at Bikini on 1 and 25 July, but after tests, was decommissioned and kept for two years for radiological and structural studies at Kwajalein.