"George E. Waldo" was laid down on 18 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2501, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Ruby M. Waggener, the mother of the southern states winner of a newspaper contest for news boys selling war bonds and stamps, and was launched on 23 October 1944.