Arthur Klobe, Army hero and Cargill leader

Cargill executive Arthur H. Klobe was a World War II strategist whose work planning the D-Day invasion earned him France's highest civilian honor.

A picture of Klobe standing at attention is near the entrance of the Greatest Generation exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum in St. Paul.

"He epitomizes the Greatest Generation," said Nina Archabal, director of the Minnesota Historical Society. That group "endured the Great Depression, experienced World War II at home and abroad, and went on to build the modern nation we are a part of today," she said.

Klobe, 91, died of pneumonia Sept. 18 in a Minneapolis hospital.

After being named a French Legion Chevalier in 2009, Klobe told the Star Tribune that he had been part of a group that spent nine months in Bristol, England, planning the Omaha Beach invasion in Normandy. "Our job was to do the necessary planning to deploy 150,000 troops in a 24-hour period from England to Germany," said Klobe. He was promoted at age 25 to lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.

After the successful Normandy landing, Klobe joined a unit that assisted a French armored division in liberating Paris from the Germans on Aug. 25, 1944. "It was a climactic day, and I'll never forget it," Klobe told the Star Tribune.

Pierre Vimont, French ambassador to the United States, notified Klobe when he was named a Chevalier in March 2009.

Klobe returned to Minnesota and worked about 30 years as a Cargill executive. He retired in 1985 as chief executive of its subsidiary, North Star Steel, in St. Paul.

"Job preservation and growth were always his credos," said his son, John Klobe, of Saratoga, Calif. "He never accepted the concept of off-shoring [jobs]. ... He was a very magnanimous, outgoing guy. He made certain he lived what he believed in."

Klobe grew up in Young America, Minn., where his father ran a hardware store and farm implement dealership. In retirement, he often spoke about World War II at schools and colleges, his son said. He also led a breakfast club of mostly Minnesotan retirees in Naples, Fla., and recruited Minnesota leaders, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty, to speak to the club.

Gene Frey, a club member and longtime friend, said Klobe was "a true gentleman ... a charismatic leader and at the same time very respectful of other people, a real patriot."

In addition to his son, Klobe is survived by his wife, Peggy, of Minnetonka; three daughters, Kathrine Matthew of Sartell, Minn.; Molly of New York City and Barbara of San Jose, Calif.; two sisters: Magdalin Espy of Oconomowoc, Wis., and Bernice Thornton of Napa, Calif.; five grandchildren and four great-granddaughters.