She was named after Shadwell plantation, Albemarle County, Virginia, the birthplace and early home of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States.

During this time, she visited Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomons, Espiritu Santo on the New Hebrides, Manus in the Admiralty Islands, and Hollandia and Aitape on New Guinea.

On 28 December 1944, Shadwell embarked elements of the 1060th Engineer Battalion, United States Army, and sailed from New Guinea with Task Force 78 (TF 78).

Though her convoy came under continual submarine, surface, and air attack, so efficient were the screening units that Shadwell's guns remained silent throughout the entire voyage to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, P.I.

Shadwell returned immediately to the staging area at Hollandia, New Guinea, embarked additional troops of the 1060th Army Engineers, then departed for Leyte, P.I.

On the evening of 24 January 1945, the task group was sailing south of Siquijor Island, in the Philippines, when it was attacked by three torpedo bombers.

The air-dropped "fish" struck Shadwell just forward of amidships on the starboard side, tearing a hole in her bottom 60 feet (18 m) wide.

Temporary repairs were made at Leyte and, when she was deemed seaworthy, Shadwell steamed on to Manus in the Admiralty Islands.

Returning to the United States in mid-1946, Shadwell underwent preinactivation overhaul and, on 10 July 1947, was placed out of commission, in reserve.

Ranging as far north as Labrador, Greenland, and Newfoundland, Shadwell participated in several Arctic Circle expeditions and exercises including "Bluejay" and "Convex" in 1951 and "Pinetree" in 1953.

On Friday, 4 February 1955 Customs Inspector George M. Bacon was killed when he tripped and fell aboard USS Shadwell, which was docked in Hampton Roads.

In 1959, Shadwell became the first helicopter-carrying dock landing ship (She had her call letters changed from LSD to LPH when she carried helicopters ).

Seven months later, during the passage to her sixth Mediterranean deployment, Shadwell took part in Operation "Steel Pike" executed off the coast of Spain.

All fire testing was shifted to land based facilities located at the Naval Research Laboratory's Chesapeake Bay Detachment in southern Maryland.