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The national commander of the American Legion will visit Grayson County next week, during a tour of western Kentucky.

Fang A. Wong is scheduled to attend an 11 a.m. public meet and greet and luncheon at American Legion Post 81 in Leitchfield on Wednesday, May 2.

It’s one of several planned stops that day, and during Wong’s three-day visit to Kentucky.

After the luncheon, Wong will head to Fort Knox to visit its Wounded Warior Transition Assistance Program and then attend a private dinner at the Elizabethtown American Legion Post 113. He’ll head to Lawrenceburg the following morning.

Post 81 Adjutant David Rose said Wong’s visit to Leitchfield is an outgrowth of the Legion’s Kentucky commander, Doug Farley, being from Madisonville.

Past national commanders visiting the state have generally flown into Louisville’s airport and have stayed around the Louisville area. Wong is flying into Nashville, Rose said, and will visit the Madisonville area his first day in the state.

The national commander is the chief executive officer and official spokesman of the American Legion. Each national commander serves a one-year term, and is elected during the organization’s national convention.

Wong, of East Brunswick, N.J., was elected Legion commander in September 2011. Born in Canton, China, he immigrated to the United States as a 12-year-old in 1960 and became a naturalized citizen in 1963.

Wong volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1969, served 25 months in Vietnam and retired from the Army as a chief warrant officer in 1989. He became involved with the American Legion after his retirement from the Army.

Focusing on service to veterans, members of the Armed Forces and communities, the American Legion currently has about 2.4 million members worldwide.