NEW YORK — After graduating from Centralia College and hanging out with friends for a while, Ethan Kempf needed a change of pace.

In 2008, he told his mother Teresa he wanted structure and discipline in his life, and would sign up for the United States Navy for at least six years.

What Ethan didn’t know is that he’d soon be maintaining and repairing multi-million dollar electronics equipment on one of the Navy’s newest, most symbolic ships in the fleet.

“Sure it can be scary for any mom, to see your son go away” Teresa said. “But we just want to see our son do well and have fun.”

Teresa and Ethan’s family met him in Manhattan Saturday to see him leave for service on the USS New York, a 684-foot transport and communications dock ship.

Hundreds of people, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gathered downtown to tour a piece of history — 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center were used to create the bow of the ship, gathered after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

Though Ethan wasn’t available to talk Saturday, he said in an e-mail that he’d be working the ship’s navigational, radar, communications and firing systems. If the ship runs into pirates, he said, he would be on the search party that boards the hostile sea craft.

But throughout the early part of this week, Ethan will be congratulated by hundreds of New Yorkers who were close to the terrorist attacks in 2001. His parents, who will wait to see him again in Vader, said they couldn’t be happier.

“We are so beaming proud,” Teresa said. “And he’s proud too — he’s following in the footsteps of heroes.”

Growing up in a military family, Ethan was taught the importance of hard work early, his parents said. Now, even though he’s excited to work on one of the Navy’s most prestigious and sought-after ships in the service, Ethan has future goals.

If all goes well, Ethan said, he’ll be a Navy SEAL — a special operations force considered to be the elite soldier in the Navy — within a year.

The USS New York

• San Antonio-class Amphibious Transport Dock Ship

• Made with 7.5 tons of steel melted down from the World Trade Center

• Power Plant: Four Marine Diesel Engines, Two Shafts, 41,600 Horsepower

• Length: 684 Feet

• Displacement: About 24,900 Tons With Full Load

Source: The United States Navy