She was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard on 8 November 1943 as a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort DE-540; launched on 27 December 1943; and was sponsored by Mrs. Mary Hardin Vandivier.

During the remainder of 1955, Vandivier completed outfitting at Boston, Massachusetts, moved to Newport, Rhode Island, and prepared for her shakedown cruise.

She arrived at Boston on the 20th and underwent post-shakedown availability there until the second week in April, when she returned to Newport to begin duty as a radar picket ship with the Atlantic Fleet.

Throughout her brief U.S. Navy career as an active unit of the fleet, Vandivier served along the Atlantic Ocean seaboard and operated out of Newport, Rhode Island.

Her duties consisted solely of patrols off the coast as a seagoing extension of the distant early warning system during the height of the Cold War.

She cruised on station for periods of approximately two weeks in duration while her radar equipment scanned the horizon for any airborne intruders—missiles or planes.

For the remainder of the year, Vandivier alternated between two-week tours of duty on the picket line with one-week in-port periods at Newport.

On 20 September, she had the honor of escorting President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the America's Cup Races held off Narragansett Bay.