Kammala jumla mai zuwa: Bayan horo na shakedown a Chesapeake Bay, wanda a lokacin ya kuma yi aiki a matsayin jirgin horo ga ma'aikatan da za a sanya su zuwa wasu jiragen ruwa na tanki, LST-389 ya bar Norfolk a ranar 19 ga Fabrairu, 1943, zuwa Bayonne, New Jersey inda ta dauki jirgin ruwa guda daya (LCT), sojojin Amurka, da kuma kayan aikin likita. Ta tashi tare da motar UGS 6A a ranar 19 ga Maris, ta ci gaba ta hanyar Bermuda zuwa Arewacin Afirka kuma ta isa Nemours, Algeria a ranar 13 ga Afrilu. Ba da daɗewa ba ya canza zuwa Arzew Naval Base, Algeria jirgin ya zama babban jirgin ruwa ga Kyaftin Frank Adams, Kwamandan, LST Group 5, Flotilla 2. LST-389 ba da daɗewa ba ya shiga cikin
kamfen don mamaye Sicily, wani mataki zuwa Italiya.