Nothing specifically identifies this as a war memorial. There is but a hint as to its purpose in the inscription:
DEDICATED TO THE PATRIOTIC SPIRIT AND SACRIFICE OF OUR COUNTRY'S YOUTH
THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD AS
WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD
AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM
NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE
SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE
WILL REMEMBER THEM
One has to dig back in the record to learn that it was erected to commemorate those who fought in World War I; reportedly, over 12,000 people attended the dedication on Veterans' Day, 1924 (that's 25% more than the total 2000 population of the city).
The acoustics of the semicircular enclosure are interesting. If two people sit on opposite sides so that the statue blocks your view of each other, acoustics will "bounce" your voices so it sounds like you're sitting next to each other.