A full-court salute

David Whittaker, a Marine veteran, has been responsible lately for raising an American flag — about as big as the surface area of a basketball court — on the Newport skyline.

On Tuesday, Whittaker raised the flag again in front of American Legion Post 291 in honor of Veterans Day today.

On Thursday, the Newport Harbor Exchange Club, a local chapter of a service group, the National Exchange Club, will recognize Whittaker for his appreciation of The Stars and Stripes.

The club will give him a plaque during a luncheon at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, where the Exchange Club meets weekly, said Gary Eckles, the chapter’s president-elect.

“We just felt that this fellow has gone quite a bit farther, and he doesn’t make any money from it,” Eckles said, describing how Whittaker has expressed his love for the flag.

— Imran Vittachi