 While at Bikini the ship was the home of the 53rd Naval Construction Battalion.The "Saint Croix" returned the Seabees to Port Hueneme in August 1946 where the battalion was decommissioned and, except for a voyage to Pearl Harbor in January 1947, remained there until she was decommissioned on 7 April 1947.She then transferred to the Maritime Commission and was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California.