The US Government requisitioned the SS "Delorleans" on June 3, 1941. The Navy assumed control on June 9, 1941, and stripped the ship to prepare her for war duty, and she was commissioned on October 10, 1941, as the USS "Crescent City". After involvement in almost all the major campaigns in the Western Pacific during WWII, the USS "Crescent City" was redesignated as APA-21 in 1943. Before being decommissioned in San Francisco on April 30, 1948, she earned a Navy Unit Commendation and 10 battle stars for her service in WWII.