operation with the Army Transport Service (ATS), the ship was renamed General William O. Darby in honor of Brigadier General William O. Darby, USA (1911–1945), leader of the famed World War II "Darby's Rangers" who distinguished themselves in combat in North Africa, in Sicily, and in Italy. He was killed in action on the Italian front on 30 April 1945, while serving as Assistant Commander of the 10th Mountain Division. After operations with the ATS as USAT General William O. Darby, the ship was reacquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950 and reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register on 28 April 1950 as USNS General William O. Darby (T-AP-127). Operating out of New York under the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), the transport steamed between Europe and the Mediterranean Sea carrying troops on rotation, military dependents, and supplies. Between 1950 and 1953, she made more than 20 round trip voyages to Bremerhaven, Germany, and back. In November 1951, the ship veered 100 miles off course to respond to an SOS from a German freighter in the Bay of Biscay. Thirteen of General William O. Darby's sailors volunteered to man a lifeboat and brave the 30-foot seas to transfer a critically burned German sailor to the transport for medical treatment. Departing New York on 20 June 1953, General William O. Darby proceeded to Yokosuka, Japan, via the Panama Canal, arriving at the Japanese port on 17 July to embark Korean War veterans. Returning to Seattle on 29 July, the transport made five more round-trip voyages between the west coast of the United States and Japan in the next five months. After returning to San Francisco on 23 January 1954, she sailed for the east coast on the 25th to resume operations with MSTS (Atlantic), and reached New York on 8 February. In 1954 and 1955, the ship conducted 12 and 13 round-trips, respectively, and, in the first six months of 1956, conducted seven before being deployed to the Mediterranean to support the operations of the 6th Fleet. Ranging from North Africa to Turkey in that tour, she eventually returned to New York on 6 August 1956. Between 1956 and 1965, the ship conducted some 135 runs to Bremerhaven and back, deploying to the Mediterranean on nine occasions. In this period the ship took part in the mass movement of 50,000 troops to Cherbourg and Bremerhaven in the Berlin crisis in