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
The Story of a Soldier premiere cut of the film, but as the production was prepared for general release the scene in question was shortened by two minutes. The re-edited scene called for a different arrangement for the song. It is this version which is presented on the expanded soundtrack released in 2001. Its running time is 5 minutes 33 seconds. The Story of a Soldier "The Story of a Soldier" ("La Storia Di un Soldato" in Italian) is a song from Sergio Leone's 1966 Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Like the rest of the film's score, it was composed by Ennio