Hickman was built in 1918 as the commercial cargo ship SS Hickman for the United States Shipping Board by the Standard Steamboat Company[3] or Standard Steamship Company[4] at Shooters Island, New York.

On 16 November 1918, the Shipping Board transferred her to the U.S. Navy, which assigned her the naval registry identification number 3554 and commissioned her the same day at Shooters Island as USS Hickman (ID-3554).

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Hickman loaded cargo at New York City and departed for France before the end of November 1918, but was forced to turn back due to boiler and steering problems.

She arrived at La Pallice Roads in France on 22 December 1918 after a rough transatlantic crossing during which she lost one of her crew overboard.

She unloaded cargo at La Pallice and, after taking on a few passengers bound for the United States and some United States Army cargo, got underway on 27 January 1919 and arrived at New York City on 17 February 1919 after an even rougher passage during which winds she encountered in the North Atlantic Ocean reached hurricane force.