After the Armistice U-139 was inspected at Brest where it was noted that not only are the periscopes broken but the thin metal weather screen on the forward side of the conning tower was badly bent as the result of the collision.

A German crew member, still on board, stated “the U-139 had encountered an American transport off the Atlantic coast, which had attempted to ram her, and had succeeded in breaking off both periscopes, so that for the remainder of the cruise the submarine was unable to attack while submerged.

This was interrupted from June 21 until July 21 as Henderson carried military and civilian leaders to observe the historic bombing tests off the Virginia Capes.

During the next few years, she also performed ceremonial duties, embarking a congressional party to observe fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean in the spring of 1923, and carrying President Warren G. Harding on an inspection tour of Alaska in July.

The President called at Metlakatla, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Skagway, Seward, Valdez, Cordova and Sitka in Alaska, as well as Vancouver, Canada.

When approaching Seattle on July 27 in heavy fog, Henderson collided with the destroyer Zeilin (DD-313), which was badly damaged, but with no loss of life.

[5] The President's review of the fleet from the transport in Washington state's Elliott Bay then took place, before he disembarked at Seattle, only six days before his death.

Henderson arrived in Shanghai on 2 May 1927 with Marines for the garrison there, and remained in China for six months protecting American nationals in the war-torn country.

On December 6, Marines from USS Oklahoma and sailors stationed in Pearl Harbor volunteered to escort the women and children back to California in exchange for extra shore leave.

He set course for Alaska to avoid being overcome, maintaining strict radio silence even in the face of repeated attempts by the Navy to contact the ship and verify its survival.

Henderson then hugged the Pacific Northwest coast down to San Francisco Bay, arriving eleven days after it had been presumed missing in action.

During the Pacific War, Henderson continued its service as a transport between California and Hawaii, making over 20 such voyages with fighting men, civilian passengers, and cargo.

Henderson was decommissioned on 13 October 1943 for conversion to a hospital ship at General Engineering & Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California.

After delivering her patients, the ship sailed on 26 May for the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, and after providing medical services during the series of nuclear blasts during "Operation Crossroads", she returned to Seattle on 15 August 1946.