"LST-325" was launched on 27 October 1942 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and commissioned on 1 February 1943 under Lt. Ira Ehrensall, USNR. The ship operated in the North Africa area and participated in the invasions at Gela, Sicily and Salerno, Italy. On 6 June 1944, "LST-325" was part of the largest armada in history by participating in the Normandy Landings at Omaha Beach. She carried 59 vehicles, 30 officers and a total of 396 enlisted men on that first trip. On her first trip back to England from France, "LST-325" transported 38 casualties back to a friendly port. Over the next nine months, Navy records show "LST-325" made more than 40 trips across the English Channel, carrying thousands of men and pieces of equipment needed by troops to successfully complete the liberation of Europe. The ship continued to run supply trips between England and France before returning to the United States in May 1945. "LST-325" was decommissioned on 2 July 1946, at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.