War veterans receive a special thank-you from state

Anthony Hinson will use his check for Christmas toys for his two children. Brendan Murphy will use his for a vacation to Aruba.

The two men were among nine US military service members invited yesterday afternoon to the State House to pick up $1,000 "Welcome Home" bonus checks, tax-free money given to war veterans who served in combat zones since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The state has issued about 17,000 checks since the Welcome Home Bill was signed into law three years ago by then-Governor Mitt Romney. There are about 7,000 more service members eligible for the bonus who have not yet applied, state Treasurer Timothy Cahill said during a press conference aimed at getting the word out about the bonus.

"As we think of our veterans today and tomorrow on Veterans Day, give thanks and say a prayer," Cahill said. "In these times of economic uncertainty . . . the purpose of this is to help."

State Representative Anthony Verga, cochairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, told the beneficiaries, "The idea that we're just giving this money to you, let me tell you something: We're not giving it. You've earned it."

The Welcome Home Bill also provides $500 to service members at least six months of active service, and according to Verga, veterans who served in the Vietnam War are eligible for up to $300 in other existing bonuses.

The service members were given large cardboard facsimiles of checks; Cahill handed them small white envelopes that contained the actual checks. Each soldier or Marine posed with Cahill, Verga, and Massachusetts National Guard Brigadier General Thomas Sellars, while the service members' spouses and other relatives snapped pictures. About 60 people attended the ceremony.

"This is a big deal for them," Sellars said after the event. "Everyone likes to do a good job and get a pat on the back, to be appreciated. This public recognition means a great deal to them. Would they do it without the bonus? Yes, of course."

Hinson, a lieutenant colonel with the Army Reserves, traveled around Afghanistan for a year beginning in August 2007, training the country's national police and border authorities on counternarcotics efforts. Hinson is a supervisory special agent with the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Boston.

"To me, this is more than just a thousand dollars, it means the state of Massachusetts is recognizing the military for their service," he said.

Murphy, 26, an Army sergeant who served as a medic on two tours in Iraq, said he found out about the bonus from his brother."It took me about 10 minutes to fill out the application online last month," Murphy said. "It was pretty easy."