The day after the Rota strike, the ship flew off her planes to Saipan and then returned to Apra Harbor, Guam, on 2 August, for a three-day breather before heading for Okinawa on 5 August. She arrived at Buckner Bay four days later. Her one night spent in the anchorage there was a memorable one since, during the evening, word arrived that surrender negotiations with the Japanese were in progress and prompted many ships and shore-based units to set off pyrotechnics.