Originally laid down as LST-794 by the Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 12 July 1944; launched 16 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. B. H. Gommel; and commissioned 16 October 1944.

After embarking Army and Navy passengers at Pearl Harbor, she steamed to the New Hebrides, arriving Espiritu Santo on 16 January 1945.

As the invasion of Okinawa approached, LST-794 engaged in intensive amphibious exercises in the Solomons, then steamed for the Ulithi staging area.

After embarking men and vehicles of the 1st Battalion 4th Marines, the landing ship departed Ulithi on 25 March, and a week later arrived off Okinawa.

Returning to the United States in early 1946, LST-794 decommissioned on 9 July 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed in the Columbia River.