The escort carrier shifted to the Fifth Fleet on 19 September and then (27 September–19 October 1945) took part in Operation Magic Carpet—the return of veterans from the war zones by ships and aircraft. "Kitkun Bay" made her maiden Magic Carpet voyage carrying 554 troops, and Howarth joined her as they formed TU 16.12.26 and headed for the United States. The two ships touched at Apra, Guam, and Pearl Harbor on their return cruise, and "Kitkun Bay" slipped beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and moored at San Francisco as she brought the grateful veterans home. Additional voyages to Pearl Harbor and the west coast, and a cruise to Okinawa, concluded at San Pedro on 12 January 1946, and the following day "Kitkun Bay" moved to the Nineteenth Fleet. The ship steamed up the west coast and entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., on 18 February.