HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — Jim Groen spent four years in the Marine Corps as a combat engineer.
The experience had its highs and its lows — some of which he wouldn't seek help for until decades later.
"It was a real good time," Groen said.
But getting help for the harder parts of his service proved difficult. Even with buddy letters from fellow Marines, his wife and his daughter, his claims didn't get connected at the V.A. 15 years ago.
WATCH: Hamilton County veterans event helps vets access earned benefits
He let them go — until last year's Hamilton County Veterans Appreciation Event at Sawyer Point, where a friend encouraged him to attend.
"I was very apprehensive getting into big crowds, but I went down there and signed up, and they got the ball rolling for me," Groen said.
Now he has a service officer working with him through the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission.
"I've connected with a lot of different veterans through this organization, and they helped me get my rating back up," Groen said.
The 2026 Hamilton County Veterans Appreciation Event will be held at TQL Stadium on Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organizers expect 5,000 people to attend.
"This is a celebratory event above all, and bringing our veterans together and to be able to continue to bond and coalesce with one another is one of our biggest goals. So it's just a tremendous opportunity to do that," Executive Director Glenn Welling said.
Beyond the food and festivities, the event is designed to connect veterans with benefits and resources they may not know they have access to.
"Connections with one another, connections with benefits, and to allow our veterans the opportunity to take advantage of the things that they've earned and perhaps that they weren't necessarily aware of or hadn't thought about before," Welling said.
The Cincinnati Veterans Administration will have a significant presence at the event. Chris Klug, the acting public affairs chief, said 11 to 12 different tables will be set up.
"They can kind of get all their services or get all their questions answered here. So some veterans may not want to enroll because they don't want to go down to the hospital, and we'll have an enrollment specialist on site that will be able to speak with those veterans, check their eligibility, and get them enrolled the same day," Klug said.
Programs including veterans justice, military trauma and standard health benefits will be available for on-the-spot enrollment.
For Groen, knowing how the Veterans Service Commission and the V.A. helped him secure his disability benefits, he wants every veteran to get what they've earned.
"There are so many that have slipped through the cracks," Groen said, "Things are coming around for us veterans. Yeah, it's long overdue."
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