The national commander of the American Legion will be making a trio of local stops in the area Saturday on a tour through the state that starts today and ends this weekend.

David Rehbein, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, was elected to the national post in August. This will be his first trip to Georgia as national commander of the organization which has an estimated 2.7 million members nationwide.

After stops in Valdosta, Albany and Columbus, Rehbein will meet legion members in LaGrange at Legion post No. 75 from 10 to 11 a.m. He’ll be at post No. 152 in Hogansville from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch, then head to Franklin post No. 148 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. before ending his tour in Douglasville.

All three local American Legion posts are excited and honored to have the national commander visit. The Franklin post, which has about 40 active members, is planning a parade on the square to welcome Rehbein.

“We’ll have a motorcade and about 15 motorcycles,” said legion member Taylor Lee. “He’s only going to be here a short time.”

Lee said Rehbein will be traveling with representatives from the offices of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland.

Lee said the Franklin post is having cups made with the legion logo and the date of the visit to commemorate the event.

“(Rehbein) will always remember where Franklin, Georgia, is,” Lee said. “We just feel it’s a privilege to have him here. He’s only making seven or eight stops in the state, and we’re one of the smallest posts.”

Legion members in Hogansville, who have been making renovations to their building in preparation for the visit, are hosting Rehbein for a lunch. The Hogansville post has about 100 active members

Patti Jones, wife of post commander Will Jones, is helping plan the event. Her husband has been commander for four years – and will return from a tour in Iraq next week, after Rehbein’s visit.

“He’s so disappointed he’s going to miss this,” Patti Jones said.

Soldiers in Iraq are given a coin for every tour they complete. Will Jones has given his wife a coin from one of his tours to present to Rehbein.

The LaGrange post, which has about 80 active members, will have a social during Rehbein’s visit and present him with a gift, said post commander Roger Smith.

Rehbein is an Iowa native and served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam in 1970 and 1971. He retired last year as a research metalllurgist at the Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Jennifer Shrader can be reached at jshrader@lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.