A Man’s Big Thank-You to Troops : Celebration: The event, organized by the president of a mortgage company, draws about 10,000 people to Anaheim Stadium.

Stadium vendors here traded in their Angels caps and baseball wares Sunday night for “Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf” T-shirts and “I’m Proud to Be An American” banners as nearly 10,000 people turned out to help welcome home the U.S. troops.

Parachutists bearing American flags landed on the Anaheim Stadium field about 6 p.m. to kick off the celebration. It continued for several hours with military flyovers, fireworks, musical performances and speakers urging the eager crowd to show their appreciation for the Armed Services.

“I’m a flag-waver and proud of it,” explained George Doherty of Anaheim, who joined five of his family members in the rally called “Operation Desert Return, A Patriot’s Thank You of Prayer and Peace Concert.”

Organizer Michael Munoz, president of an Anaheim mortgage company located next to Anaheim Stadium, even managed to get a Patriot missile battery from Texas--complete with several returning Army personnel who operated it during the Persian Gulf War--to put on a display for the event.

“This is really beautiful,” said Spec. Henry Freow of San Diego, who worked the electrical generating system on some 35 Patriot missile launches in the Gulf and was one of several soldiers from Ft. Bliss in Texas to attend the Anaheim celebration.

“It’s a blessing to be here, and these people just make me feel right at home,” he added.

Munoz, who has a cousin in the Army who is now on his way home from the Persian Gulf, said he began organizing the event just over a month ago because he wanted to offer “a proper thanks for the minimal loss of life in the war--and what better place than Anaheim Stadium?”

The 44-year-old businessman said the event cost “several hundred thousand dollars” to put on, and he said he was the principal underwriter for it. Admission was free.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have filled the entire stadium,” Munoz said as he eyed bleachers that were about a sixth filled, “but with the minimal amount of time that we had to prepare the event, I’m very pleased.”

While the celebration was dedicated to those troops returning from the Gulf, one of the biggest cheers of the night came when a speaker urged the audience to also “welcome home those who served in Vietnam.” The plea drew a standing ovation.

The event was one of several in recent weeks in Orange County aimed at thanking U.S. troops who served in the Gulf. The largest will likely come May 18 with a military parade and celebration at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, expected to draw perhaps half a million.