I went to a military college also. That's why I had to click on this thread. I'd guess many veterans and/or military school alumni with extensive brass polishing experience will drop in for the same reason.

We would pour a spot of brasso on a towel and then rub belt buckles, buttons, and insignia on it to remove the laquer from brand new brass. Once the laquer was gone, we used the same method to maintain the shine from then on. We used Cutex fingernail polish remover on a Q-tip to clean out the dried Brasso residue that would get inside the belt buckles. We called the residue "green grunge", because the Brasso that would remain on inside corners would turn a greenish-grey.

OP, if you're going to try polishing the laquer off that bell so it will tarnish much faster, definitely do it away from the bike as mentioned above, and take the brass dome off if possible so you don't get "green grunge" in and around the spring, lever pivot, etc., unless a little grunge will help with the look you're after.