Returning to New York from the last voyage on 8 October, conversion to a "Charles Lawrence"-class high speed transport began, and "Joseph E. Campbell" was reclassified APD-49 on 24 November 1944. After exercises and training along the East Coast, the high speed transport departed Key West on 8 March 1945, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 8 April via the Panama Canal and San Diego. Departing Pearl Harbor on 29 April, she steamed to Eniwetok, where she rendezvoused with two merchant ships and escorted them to Leyte.