 "Guam" was authorized under the Fleet Expansion Act on 19 July 1940, and ordered on 9 September.She was laid down on 2 February 1942 at the New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey.She was launched on 21 November 1943 with the sponsorship of Mrs. Annabel McMillin (née Parlett), wife of former Governor of Guam George J. McMillin (who was being held by the Japanese as a prisoner of war at the time), after which fitting-out work was effected.