diff --git a/src/Realm.C b/src/Realm.C
index e5b9cec2e..c09fc62c7 100644
--- a/src/Realm.C
+++ b/src/Realm.C
@@ -2642,6 +2642,8 @@ Realm::init_current_coordinates()
   VectorFieldType* displacement = meta_data().get_field<VectorFieldType>(
     stk::topology::NODE_RANK, "mesh_displacement");
 
+  modelCoords->sync_to_host();
+
   stk::mesh::Selector s_all_nodes =
     (meta_data().locally_owned_part() | meta_data().globally_shared_part()) &
     stk::mesh::selectField(*currentCoords);