The mission of such teams was to destroy obstacles on landing beaches, and APD's such as Barber delivered these teams to the areas four or five days before the actual invasion. Just two days after receiving word of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 12 April death, she sailed via Eniwetok for Ulithi.
The purpose of teams tasked with clearing obstacles on landing beaches was to prepare for the invasion. APDs like Barber were responsible for delivering these teams to the designated areas before the actual invasion. Following President Roosevelt's death, Barber departed from Eniwetok and headed for Ulithi two days later.