Early in May, troops and cargo filled her spaces, and "Barnwell" left Oahu for the central Pacific on the 8th. She first stopped in the Marshall Islands then moved on to Guam to unload part of her cargo and to disembark some of her passengers, before delivering the remainder of both to Saipan. Next, she sailed to the Caroline Islands where she took troops on board at Ulithi for passage to Leyte. After stopping at Tacloban on Leyte, "Barnwell" transferred 23 landing craft to the boat pool at Samar and then headed back to the United States, carrying sailors and marines. Following a stop at Pearl Harbor en route, she disembarked her passengers and unloaded her cargo at San Francisco before starting voyage repairs.