[The exhilaration] was usually followed by more of the same hot walking, with the mud sucking at our boots and the sun thudding against our helmets while an invisible enemy shot at us from distant tre

[The exhilaration] was usually followed by more of the same hot walking, with the mud sucking at our boots and the sun thudding against our helmets while an invisible enemy shot at us from distant tree lines. . . . Weeks of bottled-up tensions would be released in a few minutes of . . . violence, men screaming and shouting obscenities above the explosions of grenades and the rapid, rippling bursts of automatic rifles.

—A Rumor of War, Philip Caputo

One inference the reader can make based on this passage is that warfare in Vietnam was characterized by

A. constant, violent action and emotional outbursts.

B. monotony and endless boredom.

C. a lot of walking and short, intense conflicts.

D. successful battles that encouraged American troops.