and relocated refugees. Much of the latter was accomplished following the capitulation of General Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel's White Army to Bolshevik forces in the Crimea in November 1920 during the Russian Civil War. In July 1922, Overton returned to the United States for abbreviated exercises with the Scouting Fleet and, then, in October 1922, as Ottoman-Greek hostilities flared at Smyrna, rejoined the Turkish Waters Detachment for another six-month tour. In mid-May 1923, Overton steamed west to Italy, from where she returned to New York City, arriving on 12 June 1923. Independent, squadron, and fleet exercises over the next eight years kept her in the Atlantic, interrupted only by two deployments, in 1925 and 1926, to the Pacific for fleet problems. On 3 February 1931, Overton was placed out of commission in reserve. In 1932 she was placed in rotating reserve commission, and served in that capacity until again decommissioned, in reserve, on 20 November 1937. World War II Destroyer With the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in at the beginning of September 1939, Overton recommissioned on 26 September 1939 and was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol. Moored at Boston, Massachusetts on 7 December 1941, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, her assignments changed little with American entry into the war. Escort of convoys and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols continued, at first to Iceland and then in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Between July 1942 and February 1943, she performed similar missions along the United States East Coast. Then, from 7 February until 26 May 1943, she escorted convoys between New York and Casablanca in French Morocco. Overhaul followed and toward the end of June 1943 Overton joined one of the first escort carrier groups, Task Group 21.11 centered on the escort carrier . With that group, she covered the Norfolk, Virginia-to-Casablanca convoy route. On 14 and 30 July 1943, planes from her group were credited with sinking the German submarines and , respectively. Convoys escorted High-speed transport Overton returned to Norfolk, Virginia, on 6 August 1943 and emerged from refit as a high-speed transport, redesignated APD-23 effective 21 August 1943. On 22 October 1943, she departed Norfolk for the Pacific. She arrived at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 12 November 1943, underwent further training, and, on 22 January 1944, headed west with the Advance Southern Transport Group bound