Each year, around late May or early June, Hazel Vercruysse receives a bouquet of flowers from an address in New York. 

The delivery arrives courtesy of John Kerr, a Vietnam veteran, who served alongside Hazel's late son, Greg, in the summer of 1967. The correlation on the calendar relates to Greg's birthday of May 29, 1947, and the day he was fatally wounded at the Siege of Khe Sahn on June 7, 1967. The gift also falls near the annual observance of Memorial Day. 

Kerr was with Vercruysse and other members of Bravo Company, second platoon, during the ambush in which 41 of 47 American soldiers on the hill were killed or wounded. Trained as a corpsman in the Navy and later the Marines, Vercruysse was tending to an injured Marine when he fell under enemy fire. 

"Greg was still conscious and, like a good corpsman, knew he was seriously wounded," Kerr recalls. "I still felt once he got to a field hospital he would be OK."

Kerr and his fellow soldiers worked to get Vercruysse stabilized for evacuation by helicopter. Later that day, a military chaplain held a memorial service for those who had lost their lives in the attack. When Greg's name came up, Kerr was left reeling. 

"I went to my bunker and felt desperate to do something for Greg," he said. "I found a few letters that he had gotten from home and knew I needed to write to his parents. That was the day I grew up. I thought I would never see home again. I would just do the best I could and not worry about life as it was before Nam."

Kerr first met Vercruysse at Camp Pendleton in California, when both were making the transition from Navy corpsman to Marine field corpsman. Vercruysse, a native of Spokane who graduated from Rogers High School in 1965, finished his training before Kerr and shipped off to Vietnam the first week of May in 1967. Kerr followed two weeks later, joining the platoon at Khe Sahn, where Vercruysse was stationed. 

"Greg had got himself well established with the platoon," Kerr said. "He loved being a part of the Marines, and I could see the Marines respected and loved having him as their medic. Greg was a guy who attracted people to him. You wanted to be around him because of his positive nature."

After the death of his friend, Kerr exchanged letters with Greg's parents, George and Hazel Vercruysse, longtime residents of Spokane. George served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  

"I don't remember what I wrote to the Vercruysses shortly after dealing with their son's loss, but both Hazel and George wrote separate letters to me," Kerr said. "They gave me a reason to care about myself. I read those letters over and over. I held on to them for almost 30 years before sending them back to Hazel. I felt their pain and they felt mine." 

Kerr will visit with the Vercruysse family in person this month as he arrives in Spokane to attend the Veterans Day dedication of the Fallen Heroes station at Town Square Park in Liberty Lake on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. The installment - the third in a series of five - will honor Greg as a Navy Fallen Hero. 

"This project is such a great way to honor Greg," Kerr said. "I feel so privileged to be a part of this dedication. Greg would've loved all the attention but at the same time been humbled by it all." 

Liberty Lake resident Bob Wiese, a former Marine, spearheaded the idea to honor local military heroes in each branch of the military by installing outdoor exercise circuit courses. The city of Liberty Lake has committed a major portion of the funding for all five projects. The Fallen Heroes committee is doing its part by raising funds for the signs and affixed bronze memorial plaques at each site. 

"We're thoroughly impressed and grateful for the overwhelming positive feedback we've received about this project," Wiese said. "We hear so many stories of people who are impressed with the equipment and touched by the memorial plaques. We believe the city has set a high standard and good example for other communities to follow."     

Wiese and the committee put in extensive research before deciding on the honoree at each station. Wiese described Vercruysse as "a natural leader whose first priority was to take care of the Marines in his unit." 

"Marines owe a lot to the Navy corpsmen who serve with them, especially in combat," Wiese said. "A sharp, well prepared corpsman often gives combat wounded Marines their only chance for survival.    When we found out that Greg served as a combat corpsman at one of the most notorious battlegrounds of the Vietnam War, the committee voted unanimously on the selection."

When a Navy commander arrived at the doorstep of Greg's parents in June 1967, Hazel and George knew it was not good news. Hazel, who has kept every letter Greg sent home during his enlistment, recalls "feeling numb" but forging ahead with her husband on behalf of their two younger children, Diane and Dean. 

"It was very tough, but we had two more kids to raise," Hazel said. "You can't just quit."  

Dean Vercruysse now lives in the Garland neighborhood of north Spokane. He was in the second grade when Greg passed away. 

"I remember my brother as a fun guy," Dean said. "I think now that it would be great just to hang out with him." 

When he heard about the tribute to his brother at the latest Fallen Heroes installment, Dean said he felt "a little overwhelmed."

"It's a huge honor," he said. "Bob has done amazing work on this. He's a real dynamo."   

The first Fallen Heroes site was dedicated in September 2013 in Rocky Hill Park, followed by the Pavillion Park dedication in May on Memorial Day.  

Installation of the Navy Fallen Heroes equipment began on Oct. 17. The site will include several features that are not part of the first two courses, such as a cardio walker, balance board and leg extension machine. The ground cover will also represent a departure, consisting of tiles made from recycled rubber. Wiese said the surface "will be attractive and functional while boasting a very low maintenance cost."