I like this post.  Especially this:

When I pay my taxes every year, I comfort myself with the fact that a good portion of it will go towards killing people I don't particularly care for. To me, it's the one real job of the federal government. All the things liberals think are so important -- health care, welfare, regulations -- are things humanity has survived without for thousands of years, but national defense has been around since one tribe didn't like how another tribe was encroaching upon their hunting ground. I don't believe, though, that liberals even understand why we have a military these days. They think it's just something they have to fund to get Republicans to support their social programs.

Of course a much larger portion of everyone's taxes goes towards social programs than goes towards killing people Frank J doesn't care for, but that's a republic for ya.  Having been a CO2 coordinator (yep, imagine that!) in several of my units, I'm perfectly cognizant of the fact that liberals do think of the military as a big social program for their ill-considered efforts. 
Anyway, I'm glad someone else understands that the military is designed, funded, trained, and deployed to kill people and break things.  We don't often need to do that; but when we do, I'm glad that there are non-military types like Frank J that understand. 
That's probably why a statue of a "peace dove" wouldn't really grasp the essence of a military hero for most of us.