USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) was a destroyer tender, the first of her class, and designed to be a floating repair shop for ships of the U.S. Navy either in port or at sea. The vessel was named for Samuel Gompers, a distinguished American labor leader during the late nineteenth century. Samuel Gompers was laid down on 9 July 1964 by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington and launched on 14 May 1966; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Holmes. The destroyer tender was commissioned on 1 July 1967, Capt. Harry Risch, Jr., in command.