Pacific Ocean operations

The net tender spent the first year of her service at various Gulf and East Coast ports servicing harbor nets. She performed this duty at Key West, Florida; Newport, Rhode Island; and, Boston, Massachusetts. Holly commissioned at Boston 15 December 1942.

Holly sailed 24 December 1942 to tend nets in New York harbor and harbors on the island of Jamaica, en route to the Panama Canal Zone where she arrived 19 January 1943. There she continued servicing net defenses until departing in convoy for Bora Bora 19 February. In the months that followed she steamed between Pago Pago, Suva Harbor, Noumea, and Espiritu Santo, working on vital net facilities which helped keep American bases and staging areas secure. Holly's classification was changed to AN-19, 20 January 1944.

Under attack by aircraft

In early 1944, the ship joined LST Flotilla 5 in preparation for the invasion of the Mariana Islands. Arriving Kwajalein 6 June 1944, the ship sailed 3 days later with an LST group for the invasion area. During the preinvasion bombardment and reconnaissance 17 June, the fleet came under heavy air attack. Holly's guns assisted in downing several enemy planes; and, when LCI-468 was damaged in the battle, moved swiftly to take her in tow. With the assault well underway, the net tender proceeded to Eniwetok 25 June, arriving 5 days later.

End-of-war activity

Holly resumed her net servicing duties in the South Pacific Ocean during the remainder of the war, returning to San Pedro, California, soon after the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945. After a short voyage to Pearl Harbor to help dismantle net defenses September–October she arrived Bremerton, Washington, 28 October 1945,