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)

"I'm an artist, recent graduate, specializing in photo realistic watercolors, painting what the camera can't capture. My work is perceivably on the darker side, but the actually is, it's about exploration.
My anatomical works combine classic poses, in dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, with a very contemporary twist... illustrating what's underneath the skin, and the portrayed figure dissects a region of their body to show the structures that lay beneath."

Maratus is a spider genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). These spiders are commonly referred to as peacock spiders due to their colorful abdominal flaps that they display during courtship. In at least one species, Maratus vespertilio, the expansion of the flaps also occurs during ritualised contests between males. All described species, except M. furvus, are endemic to Australia. (Photo by Jurgen Otto)

“March 19, 2012 was the first rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade at the training ground in Alabino (near Moscow, Moscow Military District). Since the end of February troops and vehicles from various units and formations of the Armed Forces began arriving to Alabino training ground. The first rehearsal included only military vehicles. During the ride the average speed of vehicles is 12 km/h, the distance depending on the type of vehicle from 12 to 15 meters”. – Vitaly Kuzmin

Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jaqueline Rodriguez subdues a simulated suspect after being sprayed with oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray during security training aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph M. Buliavac/Released). May 10, 2011

Nicki Minaj happily gives her to her loyal fans following her very emotional tribute speech to late rapper Juice Wrld at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Hollywood, Thursday, December 12, 2019. In her speech, Minaj stated, “I know this is a Women In Music night and I'm so honored to be in the presence of all of these great women. It doesn't feel comfortable for me to talk about me when someone so important to our culture just died. I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice Wrld...I felt like he was a kindred spirit”. (Photo by Perez/X17/SIPA Press)