WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of anti-war protesters at Saturday's rally carried American flags -- some small, some large, some hung upside-down and some emblazoned with peace symbols.

One man carried an Australian flag.

Chris Adams (senior-economics), an Australian exchange student studying at the University, held his flag aloft for the duration of the three-hour parade.

Adams said he brought the Aussie banner to celebrate Australia Day -- the 203rd anniversary of that country's European settlement -- and to display the anti-war sentiment of many of his compatriots.

"There's not really an incentive for Australians to be against the war, yet they are," he said.

About 800 Australian servicemen and women are stationed in the Persian Gulf, helping to enforce the allied countries' embargo of Iraq, he said. The two Australian frigates and supply ship will probably not see any action. Adams said he thinks most Australians would be outraged if their country entered the war.

"We're not going to blindly support the U.S. anymore," he said. "Australians feel life is a little more precious."

Members of State College's Alternatives to War Committee, with whom Adams traveled, used the unique flag to stay together in the immense crowd. The flag bobbed along the parade route among signs reading: "Fight Homelessness, Not Iraqis," "Human Beings Aren't Disposable Commodities" and "There Is No Bootcamp For Widows."

As the marchers passed the heavily guarded White House, Adams appeared unnerved.

"There were more (police) outside of Beaver Stadium when they tried to tear the goalposts down," he said.

Adams said he hopes to see more debate of the war issue at University Park.

"I'd love to see the (Undergraduate Student Government) put forward a better initiative than at Old Main the other night," he said, referring to the candlelight vigil attended by about 300 people last week.

"I think there are a lot of people against the war at Penn State, even though it's a very conservative University," Adams said. "They just have to get out."

Chris Zweig, a Penn State alumnus who traveled to Washington, D.C., said, "I don't think the protests in State College right now are effective at all . . . but they do serve to keep the doors of communication open."

Robert Hatten, an associate professor of music and president of the Alternatives to War Committee, also said he would like to see more debate.

"Where is the Penn State's forum to discuss this issue? Other Big Ten universities have held forums," Hatten said.

Adams said he plans to remain active in the anti-war protest. As a child, Adams marched down the streets of Melbourne, Australia. His family participated in Palm Sunday anti-nuclear demonstrations, he said. Adams' father protested Australia's military involvment in Vietnam.

In the early 1970s, he said, Australians voted to call their troops home.

"I think Australia learned from Vietnam. I just find it a little sad that America hasn't."