The American Soldier was honored as the only indispensable instrument of war, "The Ultimate Weapon," with the principle that "If they are not there, you don't own it." The monument was originally built by Specialist 4 Steven M. Goodman and Private First Class Stuart J. Scherr and dedicated on 20 March 1959. In 1987, The Ultimate Weapon Restoration Committee, sponsored by The Association of The U.S. Army, began restoring the badly weathered statue, raising over $100,000 to recast it in bronze and replace its concrete base with black granite. On 17 August 1990, it was rededicated to the five million soldiers who have trained at Fort Dix since 1917. The statue symbolizes the soldier as the core of American military might; its eight-sided pedestal points to the corners of the Earth to signify worldwide response, and its three-tier design represents naval, land, and air forces serving in support of the American Soldier.