USS David R. Ray (DD-971), was a Spruance-class destroyer named for United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class David Robert Ray who was killed in action in 1969 while assigned to a Marine Corps artillery unit during the Vietnam War and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace the many World War II–built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the United States Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, who successfully led major naval battles in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II such as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea.