The first The Sullivans (DD-537) was laid down as Putnam on 10 October 1942, the twelfth of eighteen Fletcher-class 2,100-tonners built at Bethlehem Steel's San Francisco Yard. Renamed The Sullivans on 6 February 1943, she was sponsored at her launch 4 April by Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers. She commissioned 30 September 1943, Comdr. Kenneth M. Gentry in command. Following shakedown, she trained off Pearl Harbor where she joined Destroyer Squadron 52 in Division 103 with Bethlehem-built sisters Miller (DD 535), squadron flagship Owen (DD 536), Stephen Potter (DD 538) and Tingey (DD 539).
