"Aquarius" then headed for Hollandia, New Guinea, where she arrived on 25 September. After embarking Army personnel for exercises in the Humboldt Bay area, she sortied on 13 October with TG 78.1 for the invasion of Leyte. On A-day, 20 October, she was anchored in San Pedro Bay and began unloading her cargo. She left the area the next day and returned to Hollandia, and made another run to Leyte in mid-November. By the end of November, she was at Aitape, New Guinea, to load more Army units. She sailed on 28 December with TG 78.1 to support the landings at Lingayen Gulf.