A dog sits in the shade of a mangrove tree as a woman uses a fork to dig for shellfish on the reef-mud flats of a lagoon located at South Tarawa in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati May 23, 2013. Kiribati consists of a chain of 33 atolls and islands that stand just metres above sea level, spread over a huge expanse of otherwise empty ocean. With surrounding sea levels rising, Kiribati President Anote Tong has predicted his country will likely become uninhabitable in 30-60 years because of inundation and contamination of its freshwater supplies. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Men cover their heads from the sun while riding on a motorcycle during a hot day in Cairo, Egypt, August 17, 2015. A heatwave killed at least 61 people across Egypt from Sunday to Tuesday and caused nearly 600 people to be admitted to hospital, Egypt's health ministry said on state news agency MENA on Wednesday. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

Tea garden workers carry sacks of tea leaves at Fatikchera tea garden estate on the outskirts of Agartala, India, May 10, 2016. (Photo by Jayanta Dey/Reuters)

In the spring of 1965, within weeks of 3,500 American Marines arriving in Vietnam, a 39-year-old Briton named Larry Burrows began work on a feature for LIFE magazine, chronicling the day-to-day experience of U.S. troops on the ground – and in the air – in the midst of the rapidly widening war. The photographs in this gallery focus on a calamitous March 31, 1965, helicopter mission; Burrows’ “report from Da Nang”, featuring his pictures and his personal account of the harrowing operation, was published two weeks later as a now-famous cover story in the April 16, 1965, issue of LIFE.

Photo: Man your battle stations: The crew chief of helicopter Yankee Papa 13, lance corporal James C. Farley, mans an M-60 machine gun during a mission near Da Nang, Vietnam on March 31, 1965. (Photo by Larry Burrows/Time & Life Pictures)

A man covered with dust sits on a street following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Sukkari in the northern city of Aleppo on May 30, 2016. (Photo by Baraa Al-Halabi/AFP Photo)

Children play after offering Eid al-Fitr prayers at Jama Masjid to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the old quarters of Delhi, India on May 3, 2022. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)

“Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Yule season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A participant dressed as the Krampus creature pulls a barrel of fire past onlookers during his search for delinquent children in Neustift im Stubaital. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

A Japanese girl participates in a calligraphy contest to the celebrate the New Year in Tokyo January 5, 2015. Over 3,000 calligraphers, having qualified in country wide competitions throughout Japan, took part in the annual contest to celebrate the new year. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)