The destroyer escort (later frigate) was constructed by Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California.

The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack.

[4] On 11 March 1971, Meyerkord departed Long Beach, California on her first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment, as part of Anti-Submarine Warfare Group Three.

Upon her entry into the Southeast Asia combat zone on 3 April 1971, Meyerkord became the first ship named after an American serviceman killed in the Vietnam War to return to act in a supporting role.

These included modifications to the ship's sonar, the addition of the Basic Point Defense Missile system, and alterations to the hangar to accommodate a manned helicopter (as opposed to the unmanned Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH).

Meyerkord rescued 31 ship's crew members and monitored Gulf Banker until it sank to ensure it would not become a hazard to navigation.

World events forced New Jersey to other commitments and sent Meyerkord to the Indian Ocean to escort the Carl Vinson battle group.

Upon completion of the Indian Ocean tour, Meyerkord was tasked with the humanitarian and salvage operations at the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 crash site after it was shot down by the Soviet Union.

Meyerkord returned to San Diego on 12 December 1983 and began preparation for an overhaul scheduled to start in March 1984 at Long Beach.

[4] In 1984 a minor scandal erupted when it was revealed to US media that a suicidal sailor had been chained inside the helicopter hangar aboard Meyerkord for seven days.

This had occurred during the aftermath of the downing of KAL 007 and the Navy stated the suicidal crewmember was a danger to himself and others and could not be medically evacuated immediately due to the urgency of the operations at the time.

[9] The sailor was later found guilty of disobeying orders and drug usage and given 30 days confinement with hard labor and a bad conduct discharge.

The ship visited Pearl Harbor, Subic Bay, Manila, Yokosuka and Kure, Japan, Pusan, South Korea, Singapore, Albany and Darwin, Australia and Hong Kong.