The War Participation Bonus — $100 a War, and $50 a Month for a Prisoner of War
A one-off cash bonus of $100 for qualifying service in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf or the Global War on Terrorism, on a monthly scale for the Second World War, and $50 for each month or part of a month spent as a prisoner in Southeast Asia. Small sums, but they are still open and there is an online application.
Verified August 22, 2026
What this benefit is
A one-off cash bonus of $100 for qualifying service in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf or the Global War on Terrorism, on a monthly scale for the Second World War, and $50 for each month or part of a month spent as a prisoner in Southeast Asia. Small sums, but they are still open and there is an online application.
What it's worth: $100 for each qualifying conflict period; the Second World War bonus runs at $10 a month for domestic and $15 a month for foreign service; a prisoner of war in Southeast Asia receives $50 for each month or part month held
- The residency test is twelve months in this state immediately before entering service — except for the Second World War bonus, which asks only for residency at the time of entering service.
- Every one of these bonuses requires an honorable discharge.
- Most of the conflict bonuses turn on a specific medal as well as on dates: the Korean Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal or Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, or one of four campaign medals for the Global War on Terrorism.
- Two survivor payments of $1,000 exist: for a Second World War death from hostile action, and for a Vietnam veteran whose service-connected death is attributed to herbicide exposure.
Who is entitled to it
- Your discharge characterisation is within the range these programmes run on.
- You are in this state.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Read your DD214 for medals, not just for dates. Four of the five bonuses turn on holding a particular service or campaign medal, so a record showing the right dates but no medal will not carry.
- 2Check the residency test that applies to you. The general rule is twelve months of residency here before entering service; the Second World War bonus asks only that you were a resident when you entered.
- 3Apply for each period separately if you served across more than one. They are separate bonuses, and nothing suggests one displaces another.
- 4If you were a prisoner of war in Southeast Asia while on active duty after 1 January 1961, count the months carefully — the payment is $50 for each month or portion of a month, so a part month still pays.
- 5If you are still serving, you can apply before discharge by including an armed forces certificate rather than a DD214.
- 6A survivor claiming the $1,000 payment should go through a veteran service officer. Those claims turn on how the death was characterised by the federal VA, which is a document question rather than a form question.
- Form
- War bonus application (online)
- File with
- The state veterans department
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · published policyDepartment of Veterans' Affairs — Compensation Benefits (war participation bonuses and POW compensation)
- operating · published policyDepartment of Veterans' Affairs — Services and Benefits index
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