 On 1 July, she became the USNS "Sgt.George D. Keathley" (T-APC-117); and, on the fourth, her civil service crew got her underway back to Japan to take on Army Signal Corps units and their equipment and' transport them to Korea.With the completion of that run, the APC was assigned to shuttle service between Korea and Japan-evacuating hospital patients to Hakata and carrying troops and cargo to Pusan.