She was accordingly taken over from the War Shipping Administration on 23 December 1944 and was commissioned on the same day at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Vandalia departed Pearl Harbor on 27 February 1945 for Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands and made port on 11 March.

Routed to Saipan with a Mariana Islands-bound convoy, Vandalia developed an engine casualty and was forced to reverse course and turn back to Eniwetok for repairs.

Entering the harbor at her destination two days later, she proceeded to her assigned berth, remaining there into the summer as station tanker at Ulithi.

She subsequently shifted to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, to serve as storage tanker there in September.

Vandalia ran aground at 1518, coming to rest about 200 yards (180 m) from Miyegusuku Lighthouse on Naha Island and sinking rapidly.

The 140-knot (260 km/h) winds lashed the ship, and heavy seas pounded the old tanker unmercifully.

She came to rest listing to starboard, and the danger immediately confronting the commanding officer, Lieutenant John F. Auge, USNR, was that of the ship capsizing.

Seaman Kermit S. Heistad of White Lake, Wisconsin, served as a gunner aboard the Vandalia in the months before the ship ran aground and nearly capsized in Buckner Bay.

Heistad and two other unidentified shipmates were largely responsible for saving the lives of the crew and officers.

We had the small boat that I and 2 other fellows used to run and so we asked the captain if we could try and get some of the men ashore.

Neither Heistad, nor the two other unidentified seamen who aided in the rescue, received official Naval recognition for their actions.

However, Heistad received hometown accolades for his part in saving the crew of the Vandalia.

Immediately after the typhoon, the Vandalia commander observed that the ship appeared to be damaged beyond economical repair but nonetheless stationed a guard on board to prevent pilferage.

A guard was retained on board until 20 November when, after stripping her of whatever remained of value, Vandalia was decommissioned and abandoned.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.