Renamed USS Whitfield County (LST-1169) on 1 July 1955, she remained engaged in local operations into 1956, a year in which she underwent an overhaul at Norfolk Navy Yard between 21 January 1956 and 23 May 1956.
Whitfield County departed San Diego on 13 August 1957 to begin her first deployment to the Western Pacific (WestPac).