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 wades through flood waters carrying his grand daughter on his back following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Charsadda, Pakistan on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Fayaz AzizAziz/Reuters)

A technician disinfects official balls before the Group F Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 football match between Mauritania and Gambia at Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe on January 12, 2022. (Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP Photo)

Head coach Kim Mulkey of the LSU Lady Tigers enters the stadium on the red carpet before playing against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 02, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Bangladeshi laborers unload watermelons from a boat at the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 April 2024. Watermelon is in harvesting season and is filling the city markets as it arrives from the southern part of Bangladesh. According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Barishal has set an ambitious goal to expand watermelon cultivation to 54,002 hectares across six high-yielding districts in the division, which is 14 percent higher than last year. (Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA/EFE)

Performers debut in the first decade of May 2024 the new Cirque du Soleil Spirit production at the Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland, created specially to commemorate the whisky brand’s 200th anniversary. (Photo by Cirque du Soleil 2024)

Taiwanese-American performer Nymphia Wind arrives for the 76th annual Emmy Awards ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, USA, 15 September 2024. The Emmys celebrate excellence in national primetime television programming. (Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA/EFE)

New Orleans Saints linebacker Willie Gay Jr. signs autographs for a young fan before the start of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, October 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by Ed Zurga/AP Photo)