 "Via" a transfer to the United States Army and then back to the Navy, the ship was renamed USNS "General Hugh J. Gaffey" (T-AP-121), making her the only ship to be named for Hugh Joseph Gaffey.Her keel was laid down on 15 December 1942 at Alameda, California, by the Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Inc., Inc., under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 679).She was launched on 20 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. James Reed and delivered to the Navy and commissioned on 18 September 1944 with Captain N. S. Haugen, USCG, in command.