In July 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired Sayona II under a free lease from her owner, H. W. Hower of Rome, New York, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Sayona II (SP-1109) on 3 August 1917 with Boatswain's Mate L. T. Creef in command. Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Sayona II served on submarine net patrol duty in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area until the spring of 1918. She then was reassigned to Customs House duty in the Hampton Roads area, which she continued through the end of World War I.