[3][4] In a particularly critical delivery the ship was diverted from a planned shipment to Hawaii and departed San Francisco on 19 December 1941 along with a tanker and two freighters with arrival in Brisbane, Australia on 12 January 1942.

[5][6] From Brisbane Polk, making a stop at Townsville, sailed to Soerabaja arriving on 30 January with ammunition, bombs, airplanes, and rations for forces in Java.

USS President Polk loaded construction battalion men and cargo at Port Hueneme, California and sailed 12 October 1943 for Pearl Harbor.

Disembarking troops on the Lingayen assault beaches, 11 January 1945, she ferried reinforcements from Leyte, then sailed to Ulithi to take on Marines at Iwo Jima and return them to Hawaii.

Next, she transported troops from Seattle to Tinian, reported for Operation Magic Carpet 13 October, and completed runs from Espiritu Santo and Manila to San Francisco before the end of the year.