A Show of Colors : Parade: Throngs of flag-waving spectators cheer the troops as they march toward the San Clemente pier.

A woman with a sequined flag on her white shirt sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” with infectious emotion from a bandstand on a grassy knoll. Nearby, a street was strewn with confetti left over from a military parade, and children clambered on a display of armored trucks and tanks.

The music wafted through the tall palm trees, across the railroad tracks and to the beach and pier below where people--including many military men in fatigues and carrying helmets--meandered among food booths offering cotton candy, hamburgers, watermelon and other gastronomic delights. While they munched they gazed at a horizon of sun-drenched ocean, surfers and sailboats. A local hair salon passed out free sunglasses.

This was San Clemente’s way Saturday of welcoming home the troops from Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.

Although this was far from the first celebration of America’s war heroes, the throng of honoring citizens and honored military from nearby Camp Pendleton couldn’t have been more enthusiastic.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Steven Brenenstall said that since his return from the Persian Gulf in April he has participated in parades in San Diego, Oceanside, El Toro and Hollywood. “We enjoy them,” he said.

On Saturday, Brenenstall was stationed at a display of Marine field vehicles, answering questions about the type of tank his platoon had used in the war. “It is good to see grass and trees,” he said, recalling his stint on the desert.

The morning parade through the center of town and down a hill to the pier drew a cheering and flag-waving crowd. Joining the march were representatives of the military, including the combined Marine and Navy Color Guard from Camp Pendleton, local community organizations and politicians, such as County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, Rep. Ron Packard (R-Lomita), and State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach).

The parade moved through the central shopping area and into a residential district, where it passed houses sporting flags and banners that congratulated the troops for a job well-done.

Maryann Duncan said she and her husband, Bob, had driven from their Long Beach home with eight giant American flags to drape edge-to-edge on her mother’s two-story house along the parade route. The family, which includes several military veterans, gathered in the driveway to watch and have a picnic.

Trudging back through the center of town after marching in the parade were Tony Schneider, 65, and Jim Purdue, 74, both wearing hats that showed they were members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The men, veterans of World War II, said they were touched by the cheering for the old-timers. “I believe they are really cheering for their fathers and grandparents,” Schneider said.

The men said they were not able to participate in their own victory celebration at the end of World War II. Purdue, who served in the Army in Europe, said he returned home four months after the war ended. “I cried when I went past the Statue of Liberty. Then it was a matter of looking for a job again,” he said.

Schneider’s tour with the Army in the Philippines ended 15 months after the war’s end. He recalled that when his ship landed in Oakland, he and his buddies “went to San Francisco, but we couldn’t buy a bottle of beer because we were underage.”