Crowds Turn Out in Support of the Troops : Rallies: 500 gather in Orange and 30 students cheer near a reserve center in Los Alamitos. Meanwhile, an anti-war group marches in Santa Ana.

Sentiments about the Persian Gulf War took on the look of pep rallies and a parade Monday as demonstrators in Orange County turned out to express their opinions both for and against.

In one of the largest rallies in the county so far, more than 500 people gathered at the traffic circle at Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue in Orange to show their support for U.S troops.

Smaller demonstrations of support for U.S. troops were held in Huntington Beach and Los Alamitos, while in Santa Ana a small group of anti-war protesters combined their demonstration with a march to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

For several hours, scores of motorists circled the plaza area in Orange, honking their horns as passengers hung out car windows and waved homemade signs, banners and American flags.

“The support from everybody has been overwhelming, it’s incredible,” said Ken Burnett, 28, who arrived at the rally about 3 p.m. after hearing the commotion at the plaza from his home a mile away.

Standing on the sidewalk across from the plaza and waving his own American flag, Burnett said he decided to join the rally because the anti-war protests have made him “a little frustrated.”

“We gave peace a chance, but now we have to get this madman (Saddam Hussein) out of there,” Burnett said.

Police said the only problems during the four-hour rally were two minor traffic accidents among motorists driving too close to each other around the circle.

In Los Alamitos, about 30 college- and high school-age demonstrators hooted and hollered at midday on the corner of Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard for the third consecutive afternoon, cheering their support for the war and U.S. troops while urging passing motorists to honk in support. On an otherwise quiet holiday Monday, it was easily the noisiest corner in town.

“We’re just trying to get everybody to support our troops,” said Mike Downs, an 18-year-old Los Alamitos High School student, who initiated the curbside rally Saturday with two friends. “We had about 50 people come the other day. We had a family come and join us. It was really great.”

“The overall reaction was excellent; 95% of the people support us,” he said, as friends waved signs proclaiming “Go USA” and whooped.

Darrin Pagenkopp, 19, a Cal State Fullerton student, likened the noise to a football game pep rally. But the end of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend also means at least a temporary hiatus in the cheering at Los Alamitos and Katella, he said.

“We’ve got personal things to do next weekend, so maybe (the demonstrators) will return the next weekend,” Pagenkopp said.

The protest was held just west of the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center, and occasionally employees of the base stopped to voice appreciation for the support, Downs said.

“A (Marine Corps) recruiter came by and handed out recruiting cards,” Pagenkopp said. “I want to get through high school first. If it (the Gulf War) is still going on, I’m thinking about enlisting.”

In Huntington Beach, about 20 demonstrators, saying they are frustrated by the outcry of anti-war protesters, gathered at 10 a.m. at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, waving signs and flags and inviting curious onlookers to join them in support of U.S. troops.

Although they were few in number, they were loud and boisterous, whistling, yelling, chanting and singing to oncoming traffic.

“We’re just citizens who are aggravated that our troops are not getting enough support from home,” said 38-year-old Lenelle Garrett, a rally organizer. “A lot of us are frustrated that our Vietnam veterans did not get enough support, and we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes this time around.”

Bill White, 35, a Vietnam veteran who was in the Navy for four years, said the Gulf War cannot be compared to the Vietnam War.

“This is a totally different situation,” he said. “We can’t tolerate having (Saddam Hussein) taking over any country he wants.”

At the Federal Building in the Santa Ana Civic Center, more than 40 anti-war protesters gathered before 9 a.m., then marched along a 2-mile route to Main Street, then down 17th Street and back.

Although the response along the march route was “fairly positive, (there were) a couple negatives,” said Marion Pack of the Alliance for Survival, one of the anti-war groups involved in the daily protests that began with last week’s bombing of Iraq.

“Being Martin Luther King’s birthday, a lot of the businesses were closed,” Pack said. “We did leaflet several people as we went by and gave them information about the protest in L.A. on Saturday.”

Anti-war groups are planning to march on Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, she said.

Monday’s march, however, served dual purposes, Pack said.

“It was a march in memory of Dr. King (and to) stop the war,” she said. “He took quite a strong position against war.”

In Huntington Beach, Pat Craft, 29, brought his 6-year-old son, Patrick, and 4-year-old daughter, Summer, to the rally to support U.S. troops.

Anti-war protesters are “pretty disrespectful to the guys who are in the gulf dying for freedom,” Craft said. “They need support and this is my and my family’s way of showing it.”

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this report.