The ship was laid down on 14 March 1945 at Staten Island, New York, by Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, launched on 6 August 1945 and commissioned on 5 January 1946.

Following a shakedown cruise to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the destroyer joined the Atlantic Fleet and operated off the East Coast through the end of the year.

She visited Tsingtao and Shanghai, China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Yokosuka, Japan, Okinawa; and Apra Harbor, Guam, before returning to San Diego in December.

Arnold J. Isbell was operating out of San Diego when Communist forces invaded South Korea on 27 June 1950 and the Korean War began.

Some of her duties in the combat zone included acting in the screen of Task Force (TF) 77 visiting Taiwan as part of the United States Seventh Fleet, and escorting the troop transports that brought the 45th Infantry Division to Hokkaidō, Japan.

In May 1951, the destroyer was reassigned to Task Force 95 and participated in the bombardment of enemy troop concentrations on highways and railroads at Songjin, Chongjin, and Wonsan before returning to San Diego in August for repairs and training exercises along the west coast.

For a short time, she was a member of the Taiwan Strait patrol and joined the cruiser USS Saint Paul in bombarding Songjin before she returned to the United States in August.

A highlight of the cruise was her escorting the battleship USS New Jersey into Pusan harbor, where President Syngman Rhee presented the Seventh Fleet with a unit citation from the Republic of Korea.

In January 1954, the ship and her sister members of DesDiv 112 (Destroyer Squadron 11) escorted released Nationalist Chinese prisoners of war to Keelung, Taiwan.

The destroyer played a key role in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands in January 1955 as Nationalist forces shortened their lines of defense.

She made stops at the Admiralty Islands, Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Okinawa, and Japan before returning to California in June 1958.

The destroyer received an overhaul at Mare Island from June until September and then conducted refresher training and prepared for her 10th WestPac cruise.

The ship once again sailed for the Far East on 6 February 1960 and made stops at Pearl Harbor, Yokosuka, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, and Subic Bay.

In June 1961, her home port was changed to Bremerton, Washington, where she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a fleet rehabilitation and modernization (FRAM) overhaul.

The superstructure was extensively rebuilt of aluminum, the bridge enclosed and a new CIC (Combat Information Center) built between the pilothouse and the forward funnel.

Arnold J. Isbell visited Pearl Harbor, Subic Bay, Philippines, Hong Kong; and Sasebo, Japan, before returning to Long Beach in May.

In March 1965, she received a drone antisubmarine helicopter (DASH) system and held trials of her new equipment off San Clemente Island.

Following stops at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay, Arnold J. Isbell relieved the destroyer Brinkley Bass on 30 December on the northern search and rescue (SAR) station in the Gulf of Tonkin and began her first duty in the combat zone off the coast of Vietnam.

Search and rescue duties occupied the vessel until she was relieved on 31 March 1966 and sailed to Hong Kong for four days of rest and relaxation.

After fuel stops at Midway and Pearl Harbor, Arnold J. Isbell reached Long Beach on 28 April and commenced a leave and upkeep period.

Refurbished, the ship began a training period on 16 September and spent the remainder of the year in exercises along the southern California coast and in upkeep during the Christmas holidays.

Arnold J. Isbell held refresher training out of San Diego in March 1968 and then conducted local operations until getting underway for the western Pacific on 15 July.

While in the combat zone, she performed SAR duty on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, provided gunfire support, and served as escort for five aircraft carriers.

En route back to the United States, the ship paid goodwill visits to Sydney, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand.

Arnold J. Isbell finally arrived in home port on 29 August and spent the rest of 1970 in local operations out of Long Beach.