Pro-Russian separatists from the Chechen “Death” battalion take part in a training exercise in the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, December 8, 2014. Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), dozens of armed men in camouflage uniforms from Russia's republic of Chechnya train in snow in a camp in the rebel-held east Ukraine. They say their “Death” unit fighting Ukrainian forces has 300 people, mostly former state security troops in the mainly-Muslim region where Moscow waged two wars against Islamic insurgents and which is now run by a Kremlin-backed strongman. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Mexicans dressed as French soldiers carry handcrafted guns, ahead of a reenactment of the battle of Puebla between Zacapoaxtla Indians and the French army during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Mexico City, Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Monsalvo said he has been portraying Napoleon III in the annual neighborhood event for 28 years. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of an ill-equipped Mexican army over French troops in Puebla on May 5, 1862. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

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 Polisario fighter sits on a rock at a forward base on the outskirts of Tifariti, Western Sahara, September 9, 2016. At a rocky outpost in Western Sahara, a new generation of soldiers who have never known war are mobilising as tensions resurface in one of Africa's oldest disputes after a quarter century of uneasy peace. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Teara Bryant (R), 24, enjoys a bar on South Beach during Spring Break in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 25, 2021. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Reuters)

Kurdish guard women from the civilian protection unit which supports the Democratic Forces of Syria, cheer near the Syrian town of al Houl in Hasaka province, after the Democratic Forces of Syria took control of the area, November 14, 2015. A U.S.-backed Syrian rebel alliance on Friday captured the town of al Houl in Hasaka province, which had been held by Islamic State militants, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, part of the grouping, said. It was the first significant advance against IS by the Democratic Forces of Syria, which was formed last month. (Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters)

Racegoers brave the rain during 2022 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Martin Keep/Getty Images for VRC)

In this photo released by the Alaska National Guard, Alaska Army National Guard soldiers use a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to removed an abandoned bus, popularized by the book and movie “Into the Wild”, out of its location in the Alaska backcountry Thursday, June 18, 2020, as part of a training mission. Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige, in a release, said the bus will be kept in a secure location while her department weighs various options for what to do with it. (Photo by Sgt. Seth LaCount/Alaska National Guard via AP Photo)