"Bataan" joined the task force at a critical juncture in the conflict. Since 24 November, when some 30 Chinese divisions had intervened in the Korean war, bitter fighting had forced UN troops to retreat from the Yalu and Taedong Rivers. By mid-December, the American and South Korean troops on the east coast had fallen back to Hungnam. The soldiers, along with their vehicles, supplies, and almost 100,000 Korean refugees, were being shipped south to the Pusan perimeter. On 22 December, "Bataan" began flying Vought F4U-4 Corsair fighters of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-212 over Hungnam to help cover the final phase of this evacuation. Her aircraft, along with aircraft from the carriers and , provided air cover to ground forces and shipping in the port area. Following the end of the evacuation on 24 December, her Corsairs then flew armed reconnaissance and close air support missions over the central mountains along the 38th parallel.