After a month of intensive amphibious training, "Leo" steamed on 27 January 1945 for the assault on Iwo Jima with Amphibious TF 51 under Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. After brief calls at Eniwetok and Saipan, the ship arrived off the beaches of Iwo early morning, D-Day, 19 February. Debarking her troops the first hour, "Leo" then offloaded her high-priority cargo of trucks, fresh water, and ammunition into boats alongside. For the next nine days, the ship evacuated casualties and continued sending crucial war material ashore.