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The four-wheel-drive Jeep is one of America’s most iconic vehicles. And it’s no wonder. Per its official website, “the iconic Jeep is forever tied to freedom, capability and adventure” — values all American patriots cherish.

The Jeep has a storied history, born in the heat of battle during World War II. Here are 10 amazing facts you can dole out next time you’re hanging out with your fellow 4×4 fans.

1. The U.S. military contacted 135 companies to create working prototypes of a 1/4 ton “light reconnaissance vehicle” in June of 1940. Only three companies responded: American Bantam Car Company Willys-Overland and Ford.

2.Willys-Overland completed the original design in just 75 days, and delivered its prototype to the U.S. Army in November (appropriately) on Armistice Day (Veteran’s Day) that year.

3. Most of the initial Willys MA vehicles were sent to US allies in Russia and England. Today, only about 30 vehicles are known to exist, making it the rarest of all pre-production Willys.

4. In July 1941, Willys-Overland was awarded a contract for the production of 16,000 revised MB models at a unit price of $738.74.

5. Because so many vehicles were required for the war in such a short time, Willys-Overland granted the government a non-exclusive license to allow another company to manufacture vehicles using their specs. That second company was Ford.

6. There were over 640,000 Jeeps built in total during WWII, over 360,000 of them Willys MB and over 270,000 of the Ford GPW.

7. The famous stamped, slotted grill was actually designed by Ford. The original grill had nine slots and was copyrighted by Ford. As a result, Willys-Overland switched to a 7-slot grill, which has remained the Jeep standard today.

8. A Jeep became the first American vehicle to be awarded a Purple Heart. According to the September/October 1944 Army Ordinance

Old Faithful was a Willys built jeep that served four Marine generals through the Guadalcanal campaign and the Bougainville invasion. Old Faithful was officially awarded the Purple Heart for “wounds”–two shrapnel holes in its windshield received during the (Japanese) battleship shelling of Guadalcanal on October 13, 1942. Old Faithful, the first American vehicle ever to be so decorated, was retired from active service by official Marine Corps order on December 22, 1943.

9. No one knows for sure how the “Jeep” got its name. The most popular theory is that the military designation GP (for Government Purposes or General Purpose) was slurred into the word Jeep, similar to the way HMMWV (for High-Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle) is called Humvee. However, the word “jeep” was used as early as World War I as U.S. Army slang for new recruits but was also used to describe vehicles that were untried or untested.

10. The utilitarian design of the vehicle is so revered, a military Jeep has been displayed in the New York Museum of Modern Art as “one of the very few genuine expressions of machine art.”

Another very genuine expression of machine art appears on our best-selling, limited edition t-shirt design, The Adventurer. We pay homage to this American off-road utility vehicle that gives everyone the freedom to go anywhere and do anything.