Marine fundraiser set for the Arches

The Marine Corps Birthday Ball is an event that makes the men and their mates feel special, but it’s not one that is always affordable.

“Our goal for raising money is to allow the lower ranks to go to the Marine Corps Ball -- sergeants and lower -- to go for free,” said 1st Sgt. John Kob of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, Newport Beach’s adopted Marine battalion, which recently returned from Iraq where it lost 11 men. “The military doesn’t get paid that much respectively, they really don’t, and our goal is to just help the lower enlisted people to go free.”

Dan Marcheano, owner of The Arches restaurant in Newport Beach, is trying to offset those costs by having another car wash 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to help offset the costs of the ball, which was started in 1921 and celebrates the history of the corps, Kob said.

The ball is expensive, sometimes costing upwards of $70 per person, not including what it costs for those who attend to get all dolled up and other costs associated with it.

“It’s like going to the high school homecoming or prom, it’s just been around for a lot longer,” he said. “We celebrate the history with a guest speaker that’s got something to do with the corps that everybody can gravitate It’s a huge thing.”

Checks are still trickling in from June’s car wash fundraiser and Marcheano said about $20,000 has been raised.

“A lot of these kids don’t have the money to pay for it and stay overnight and all that,” he said. “What we’ve collected so far and what we hope to collect this Saturday, hopefully we’ll get all of them in for nothing.”

Along with a special memorial service, it’s also an event that celebrates their fallen friends and the remaining marines’ journey home.

“Being back is huge and celebrating the Marine Corps is every bit as huge and it’s just a good thing for the marines,” Kob said. “Our unit is going to go through a lot of changes in the next few weeks but nobody will ever forget who was in charge and those who led us through who got us over there and brought us back.”

IF YOU GO What: Car wash fundraiser to benefit the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines at The Arches restaurant in Newport Beach

Where: 3334 West Coast Hwy., Newport Beach

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

Cost: donations

Info: (949) 645-7077 or www.thearchesrestaurant.com