COUNTYWIDE : Gulf War Vets to Be Honored at Stadium

Several thousand people are expected to attend a free celebration Sunday night for returning Desert Storm veterans at Anaheim Stadium that will feature live music and entertainment.

Called “Operation Desert Return,” the celebration will include prayer and a concert in honor of the troops performed by the International Children’s Peace Choir. There will also be a parade and a display of the military’s Patriot missiles. Actress Nicole Dupue, who plays Robin Cooper on the television program “Major Dad,” will also speak to the crowd.

The three-hour program, starting at 6 p.m., will include a 21-gun salute for the casualties of the Gulf War, followed by a moment of silence and a flyby of military aircraft in the “missing man” formation, event organizers said. A list of the war’s casualties will also be displayed.

The stadium will be decorated in red, white and blue with a special yellow-ribbon section reserved for military personnel attending the event. The $350,000 celebration is sponsored by Michael Munoz, a military veteran and president of an Anaheim mortgage company.