19 (song) shoved into jungles and shot at." The title "19" comes from the documentary's claim that the average age of an American combat soldier in the war was 19, as compared to World War II's 26. This claim has since been disputed. Undisputed statistics do not exist, although Southeast Asia Combat Area Casualties Current File (CACCF), the source for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, shows a large number of deaths (38%) were ages 19 or 20. According to the same source, 23 is the average age at time of death (or time of declaration of death). The song also comments that while
1963 in the Vietnam War Delta, had devised tactics to combat American helicopters and armored vehicles. U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) Commander General Paul D. Harkins declared the battle a victory for ARVN because the Viet Cong had abandoned the battlefield. American adviser Lt. Col. John Paul Vann who observed and directed the battle from a small airplane, called it a "miserable damn performance" by ARVN because the Viet Cong escaped after inflicting heavy casualties on the South Vietnamese. State Department officer Roger Hilsman, who had counterinsurgency experience in World War II, said after a visit to Vietnam that "things are going much better