Army Maj. Sam M. Savas, Jr., Class of 1951, conceived the idea of a brass bulldog while he was teaching military science from 1962 to 1965. After he was killed in Vietnam in October 1965, cadets donated their brass belt buckles, hat brass and breast plates to create this brass model of the college mascot. The monument also bears the name of his son, Navy Lt. Sam M. Savas III, Class of 1979, who died during a military rescue operation 20 years later.