Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, "Medea" loaded cargo at Hampton Roads, and steamed to Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 3 March 1945. Departing Honolulu 6 April, she operated in the Marianas for the next two months, before embarking troops for Okinawa. She arrived off the Hagushi beaches, Okinawa 10 June, and spent the next nine days discharging troops and cargo. After the cessation of hostilities on 15 August, she carried occupation troops from the Philippines to Japan until November, when she reported for duty with the "Magic Carpet" fleet.