She was named for Chaplain Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient for his rescue of crewmen on the aircraft carrier Franklin after it was hit and severely damaged by enemy bombs.

O'Callahan was laid down on 19 February 1964 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan and was launched on 20 October 1965.

En route she called at Norfolk, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

She stood out of San Diego on 1 October for 25 days of electronics and weapons systems tests off the Pacific Northwest, then commenced shakedown on 4 November.

After at-sea training operations off the Hawaiian Islands from 6 through 17 February 1969, she entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 4 March for post-shakedown availability through mid-May.