Several of Ivory’s children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren came to visit her at the Marian Home, with a special surprise — a completely restored and reconstructed 1943 Willys MB Jeep nearly identical to the one her late husband, Joe Ivory, drove while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Europe during World War II.

Not only is the vehicle nearly an exact twin to the one Joe Ivory is seen driving in several photos from his time in the service that have been passed around the family over the years — down to the 20387496 bumper number painted on either side of the hood — it’s fully-functional as well.

Ben Doyle, one of the Ivorys’ many grandsons and a U.S. Army veteran himself, spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in a machine shed at his home in Menlo over the last two years, completely dismantling four 1943 Willys MB Jeeps — nut by nut, bolt by bolt. It was a project he had wanted to do for a while and while scrolling on Facebook at 2 a.m. one night, he found four dilapidated jeeps for sale from a man north of Duluth, Minnesota.

It took two round-trips and a borrowed trailer to transport those jeeps back to Menlo and get to work.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Ben Doyle, of Menlo, backs a restored 1943 U.S. Army Willys MB Jeep out of his trailer near St. Edmond Catholic School on Sunday morning. Doyle has been working on restoring the vehicle that is nearly identical to what his grandfather drove in World War II for the last two years.

With the help of his dad, John Doyle, of West Des Moines, and his nephew Landen Dinkla, 14, of Winterset, Ben Doyle rebuilt the jeep — nut by nut and bolt by bolt.

Ben Doyle tried to keep the reconstructed Jeep as authentic as possible, which is why he needed four original jeeps to jigsaw into a complete one.

“Every nut, every bolt, everything,” he said. “There’s a lot of original parts. Whenever I could save original parts, we did.”

The jeep that ended up being used for the majority of the parts bears a data plate on the dash showing that it came off the factory line almost exactly 80 years ago, on Sept. 25, 1943.

After showing Rita Ivory the finished jeep, Ben Doyle, John Doyle, Dinkla and Sage Doyle, another great-grandson, took Rita for a cruise around the block.

-Submitted photo
Ben Doyle, of Menlo, used this and other photos of his grandfather, Joe Ivory, to restore a U.S. Army Jeep nearly identical to the one Ivory drove while stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II.

Doug Ivory, of Omaha, who looks strikingly similar to his father in one of those old World War II photos, replaced Ben Doyle behind the wheel and took Rita out for another spin.

“That was great,” Rita Ivory said. “This is a Sunday I’ll never forget.”

Though the majority of the work was done by Ben Doyle, John Doyle and Dinkla, other members of their extensive family helped out as well.

“It’s been a family affair,” said Marti Doyle, Ben’s mother. “Everybody had a little bit of help here and there. This really was a mission of love.”

There were plenty of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandchildren to help with the jeep project. Joe Ivory and Rita Doyle Ivory had both been widowed at a young age. When they met and decided to marry, Rita had seven children and Joe had five. And though they weren’t related by blood, the Doyle and Ivory children have never used the prefix “step-” to refer to their blended families.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Ben Doyle, right, of Menlo, and his uncle Doug Ivory, of Omaha, restored a 1943 U.S. Army Jeep nearly identical to the one Ivory's father, Joe, drove while stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Doyle was able to use photos of his grandfather, like the one sitting on the hood, to identify the exact year of the vehicle and include details like the Jeep's "bumper number." On Sunday, the family brought the Jeep to the Marian Home so Rita Ivory, Joe's widow, could see the finished Jeep and even go for a ride in it.

“Joe was everybody’s grandpa,” Marti Doyle said.

Though Joe Ivory was a mechanic during the war, he spent a lot of time driving important military officers around Europe.

“He would talk about his time there and he said one of the generals or something who he hauled around always requested him because he drove like it was smooth as glass,” John Doyle said.

Joe Ivory actually lied about his age in order to enlist to serve in World War II.

“He was born in May of 1925, but he put December of 1924 just to make him one year older,” Doug Ivory said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Doug Ivory, of Omaha, drives a restored 1943 U.S. Army Jeep nearly identical to the one his father, Joe Ivory, drove while stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army Air Corps. Rita Ivory, Joe's widow, was surprised with a ride around the block in the restored vehicle on Sunday morning. In the back are Rita's son John Doyle, of West Des Moines, and great-grandson Sage Doyle, 12, of Huxley.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Brothers Doug Ivory, of Omaha, and Rob Ivory, of Fort Dodge, sit in a restored 1943 U.S. Army Jeep nearly identical to the one their father, Joe Ivory, was pictured in while stationed in Brussels when he was in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
The Willys MB U.S. Army Jeep that was restored by Ben Doyle, of Menlo, was built on Sept. 25, 1943, nearly exactly 80 years ago.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Rita Ivory, 95, of Fort Dodge, waves to family as her grandson Ben Doyle, of Menlo, takes her for a ride in a restored 1943 U.S. Army Jeep outside the Marian Home on Sunday morning. In the back of the Jeep are Ivory's son John Doyle, of West Des Moines, and her great-grandson Landen Dinkla, 14, of Winterset.