Mettawee was laid down as Clearwater (YOG-47) by Marine Maintenance Corp. (later named the East Coast Shipyard, Inc.), Bayonne, New Jersey, 13 August 1942; launched 28 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Charles B. Edison; renamed and reclassified Mettawee (AOG-17) 25 March 1943; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 5 April 1943; converted by Bethlehem Steel Co., Hoboken, New Jersey; and commissioned 26 August 1943.

Following shakedown off Norfolk, Virginia, from 25 September, Mettawee sailed 21 October for New York City to join a convoy for the Panama Canal Zone.

She got underway two days later on the first of many round trips, transporting aviation gas to Guadalcanal and Bougainville, Solomons; and Funafuti until the end of January 1945.

Mettawee then got underway for the U.S. West Coast, arriving San Francisco, California, to be decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard 29 March 1946.

[1] Her crew was eligible for the following medals: This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.