Virgo (AKA-20) was laid down on 9 March 1943 at Kearny, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 204); launched on 4 June 1943; sponsored by Miss Sharman Douglas; delivered to the Navy on 15 July 1943; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 16 July 1943.

She arrived in Hayannah Harbor at the island of Efate to conduct training and make preparations for the forthcoming Gilberts and Marshalls invasions.

However, air strikes and counter battery fire quickly silenced the offender, and Virgo resumed landing operations.

That employment lasted until 27 March, on which day she got underway for Bougainville in the northern Solomons with elements of the Army's 25th Regimental Combat Team (RCT).

Virgo entered Milne Bay, New Guinea, on 31 March and remained there until 4 April when she headed for Cape Sudest.

At Guadalcanal, the attack cargo ship loaded troops of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and began amphibious training exercises which lasted until 31 May.

After steaming around to the east of Saipan for several days – during which the 5th Fleet carriers destroyed the remnants of Japanese naval air power in the Battle of the Philippine Sea — she then put in at Eniwetok Atoll on 30 June to await reinforcements for the delayed invasion of Guam.

The attack cargo ship remained off Agat Bay until 27 July at which time she took leave of the Marianas on her way – via Eniwetok – to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides.

After a non-stop voyage, Virgo arrived in San Francisco, California, on 29 October and, soon thereafter, began a two-month overhaul at the Hunters Point Navy Yard.

Along the way, Virgo also made a visit to Eniwetok before arriving in Ulithi on 13 February where she reported for duty with Service Squadron (ServRon) 10.

She served as station store ship at Yokosuka for the occupation forces until 10 April 1946 at which time she headed back to the United States.

Between 7 February and 31 March 1950, the attack cargo ship made a round-trip voyage from Oakland to Guam and back to San Diego.

On 19 August, she departed Port Chicago, California, with Navy passengers embarked and with a load of ammunition, bound ultimately for Korea.

She departed Korea on 7 October and returned to Japan where she visited Sasebo and Yokosuka before heading back to the United States on 1 November.

The attack cargo ship entered port at Pusan on 15 March but soon returned to sea to transfer ammunition to Valley Forge (CV-45) and to Juneau (CL-119).

At the end of the month, she resumed ammunition resupply duty along the Korean coast, visiting Songjin, Wonsan, Suyeong, and Pohang as well as replenishing ships at sea between port calls.

She completed repairs in August and, after refresher training out of San Diego, loaded passengers and ammunition at Port Chicago, California in late September.

During her tour of duty, her mission consisted entirely of replenishments at sea in support of United Nations naval forces operating off the Korean coast.

For the next five months, she resumed the familiar schedule of replenishments at sea punctuated by ammunition deliveries at Korean ports and return trips to Sasebo for the purpose of restocking her own supplies.

Thus, when she emerged from the shipyard late in September and prepared to resume voyages to the Far East, her missions lost their combat character.

Most frequently, she called at such ports as Sasebo and Yokosuka in Japan, Kaohsiung on the island of Taiwan, and Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines.

At the end of that five years, on 3 April 1958, Virgo was decommissioned and berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, located at Astoria, Oregon On 1 July 1961, her name was stricken from the Navy list; and she was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration.

In January 1967, she loaded ammunition at Concord Naval Weapons Station, California, in preparation for her first deployment to the western Pacific in support of the American effort in the Vietnam War.

During the following six months, the ship made an equal number of replenishment voyages from Subic Bay to the warships operating in the Gulf of Tonkin to keep them supplied with ammunition.

During the first six weeks of 1968, Virgo loaded ammunition in preparation for and participation in the 1st Fleet exercise, Operation "Bead Stringer."

In six months' time, she made eight line swings from Subic Bay to the Gulf bringing in new stocks of ammunition to refill the depleted magazines of American warships along the Vietnamese coast.

During most of her eight line swings, Virgo either served as a backup for the AOE's or concentrated on replenishing the cruisers and destroyers operating close to the coast.

Repairs complete on 16 February, Virgo moved back to Concord to load ammunition in preparation for operations at sea along the west coast.

Virgo arrived in Subic Bay on 29 May and embarked upon the first of six line periods supplying ammunition to warships off Vietnam.

The ship is single screwed, steam turbine (double reduction) driven, made by DeLaval and is rated at 6000 HP.