CITY FOCUS:

Despite heavy rain snarling traffic and pushing festivities inside, Huntington Beach’s adopted battalion of Marines celebrated their return from Iraq at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort Friday, where the Huntington Beach 3/1 Marines Foundation put on a huge bash to show its support.

Battalion members presented three of the 3/1 Foundation’s biggest corporate benefactors with a trio of irreplaceable gifts: The Robert Mayer Corporation, the Waterfront Hilton and the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa all received Huntington Beach flags that Marines flew in their recent tour in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

As for the Marines and their spouses, the foundation’s leader Cindy Cross said they had a blast at the event, which featured games, dancing, performances, raffles and presentations across numerous rooms of the hotel.

“One of the Marines told me that night, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’” Cross said. “They’re usually at a loss for words.”

Next on their schedule is a more solemn occasion, she said — the battalion meets in Camp Pendleton this Friday to remember those killed in the last tour of duty. The invitation-only event is a powerful thing to behold, she said.

“They’re amazing, the strength of these people,” she said. “Just to see how bonded everybody is to each other. It’s just a lovely ceremony.”

— Michael Alexander