Josie Appleton, "What Next, a Tomb of the Unknown Pigeon?" spiked, 10 November 2006.

The Imperial War Museum in London is hosting a new exhibition on animals in war, detailing the feats and sufferings of cavalry horses, carrier pigeons and sniffer dogs. In 2004, a major memorial was unveiled on Park Lane in London dedicated to all the animals that died alongside British troops, including horses, dogs, dolphins, elephants and glow-worms (apparently troops used them as reading lights). ...

Both sides are using animals to make their case. The glory and pity of war alike are seen through animal eyes. It’s apparently only through the experiences of dogs, horses and pigeons that people can explore the heroics and costs of battle. ...

Animal memorials and exhibitions are for a time when everybody wants to talk about war, but nobody wants to talk about the actors in war, only those who are unwillingly tossed and turned in its midst. Thus does the tomb of the unknown pigeon take the place of the unknown soldier.

On a more fanciful level (or perhaps mundane), this reminds me of a Buffy quotation, from a Season 3 episode. The head of the Council of Watchers has come to Sunnydale and is blathering on about the importance of the war against evil they're fighting. Giles retorts, "You're waging it. [Buffy's] fighting it."