"Overton" returned to Norfolk, Virginia, on 6 August 1943 and emerged from refit as a high-speed transport, redesignated APD-23 effective 21 August 1943. On 22 October 1943, she departed Norfolk for the Pacific. She arrived at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 12 November 1943, underwent further training, and, on 22 January 1944, headed west with the Advance Southern Transport Group bound for Kwajalein to take part in the Battle of Kwajalein, part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. Before dawn on 31 January 1944, she put reconnaissance troops ashore at Gehh (from where they moved to Ninni) and at Gea to control the Gea Pass into the southern end of Kwajalein Lagoon. She then took up bombardment, fire support, and reconnaissance duties off Kwajalein. On the 4 February 1944, she covered the capture of Bigej and, on 8 February 1944, departed for Pearl Harbor and then the West Coast of the United States. By 29 May 1944, however, she was back in the Pacific Theater, en route to Saipan with United States Marines embarked to take part in the Battle of Saipan. Until 24 June 1944, she screened the transport area and patrolled off Tinian, then retired to Eniwetok to escort convoys to Saipan. In July 1944 she resumed patrol and bombardment duties off Tinian during the Battle of Tinian, then covered tank landing craft (LCTs) bound for Guam, and, at the end of July 1944, escorted tank landing ships (LSTs) to Pearl Harbor.