A baby sloth uses his mother as a hammock while she feasts on papayas in Heredia province in Costa Rica in April 2023. (Photo by William Steele/Solent News)

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)

Workers carry sacks of tea leaves at a tea estate in Nagaon district in the northeastern state of Assam, India, August 22, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Bella Thorne out and about, Los Angeles, USA on June 14, 2017. (Photo by Broadimage/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Inspired by a walk in the park and spring flowers, Toronto based wedding photographer Daryl Banks seeks to “simulate the intricate beauty of macro flower photography with crinolines, legs and hosiery.” which visually represents of the feelings of the artist about being transgender.

The $250,000 Beverly Hills Chopper socialite Paris Hilton is to receive is displayed at Johnny Fratto's residence November 14, 2005 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

TV personality Lindsay Hubbard got “activated” at the Straight Talk Tax Breaks event in Miami on February 24, 2024. (Photo by Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com)

A model poses for a portrait backstage during Dakar Fashion Week July 10, 2011. (Photo by Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)