The keel for DLG-33 was authenticated and laid in ceremonies at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 15 January 1963.

[1] Rear Admiral Frank Virden, then Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, US Pacific Fleet, presided over the ceremonies for the unnamed ship.

Participating in support of the large scale troop build up in Vietnam, and consequent increase in aircraft operations, her technology at the time was formidable.

In particular, on 23 October 1967, a Fox air controller directed two F-4 fighters from the carrier USS Constellation to intercept the subsequent kill of a North Vietnamese MIG-21 aircraft over Hanoi.

In addition to a 5-inch / 54 caliber gun and two MK32 torpedo launchers; AN/SQS-26 sonar; AN/SPS-48 three-dimensional radar; AN/SPS-40 two-dimensional radar; NTDS (later CDS) computer processing and dissemination of tactical information data systems, other equipment was added including quad-canister Harpoon surface to surface missile launchers and Vulcan Phalanx Close in Weapons System.

During her final shipyard overhaul in 1989, Fox received the New Threat Upgrade (NTU) combat system which significantly enhanced her warfighting potential.

The Iran-Iraq conflicts of the 1980s made it necessary for Fox to escort U.S. flagged oil tankers through such areas as the Strait of Hormuz of the Arabian Sea.