The first USS Keosanqua (AT-38) was launched 26 February 1920 by Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, Port Richmond, New York; and commissioned 9 December 1920 at New York Navy Yard, Lt. (j.g.) G. F. Coulson in command. Departing New York on 2 February 1921, Keosanqua sailed for Hawaii via Charleston, the Panama Canal, and San Diego. Arriving Pearl Harbor on 16 April 1921, the tug was based at the Navy Yard there, towing ships and targets until she decommissioned on 8 June 1922.