MEIGS COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Serve in a recent war or conflict -- get a bonus. It's just that simple if you live in Ohio.

The state thanks veterans for their service and wants to show it. But you can't get the hundreds of dollars that may be coming to you if you don't apply.

Andrea Neutzling and her daughter, Paxton, have certainly had their share of ups and downs after she served 10 years in the U.S. Army -- one of those years spent stationed in Iraq.

“It doesn't just end," Neutzling said. "I’ve undergone extended exposure therapy."

To say her transition back to civilian life has been challenging is an understatement. That's why she was so excited to learn about the Ohio Veterans Bonus.

It's money up to $1,500 available to Ohio veterans serving active duty between August 1990 to March 1991 or anytime since October 2001.
Neutzling's already claimed, received and spent her bonus.

“My daughter was seven at the time," she said. "I spent the money on school clothes and supplies for my daughter."

“They deserve it,” said Fay Wilson who works with the Meigs County Veterans Service Office. "While getting the benefit is easy, you do have to apply for it."

The money is a result of a constitutional amendment approved by Ohio voters to sell $200 million worth of bonds to pay bonuses to the men and women serving in recent years.

For Neutzling, it was a great pick-me-up that came right on time.

“We earned it. We deserve it,” she said.

If you don't have the ability to apply online yourself, you can visit your nearest Veterans Services Office and they'll fill out the application for you.

For more information, call (877) 644-6838.