Donald Ganslmeier, operator of the Motodrom, rides a motorbike inside the Motodrom during a press tour at Theresienwiese on the premises of the 182nd annual Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, September 17, 2015. (Photo by Matthias Balk/EPA)

Contestant Emilce Lezcano, center, prepares for the evening gown portion of the “Miss Gordita” beauty contest in Asuncion, Paraguay, Saturday, April 25, 2015. In their elegant evening gowns and elaborate hair styles, the contestants defy the conventional idea that only skinny women can be beautiful. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

A Palestinian youth jumps with a sword as he demonstrates his ninja-style skills for the photographer in front of the ruins of buildings, that were destroyed in 2014 war, in the northern Gaza Strip January 29, 2016. The youths, who have been receiving martial arts training at local clubs in Gaza for the past two years, decided to form a team to hold regular shows in the hope that the publicity generated will eventually lead to them being invited to participate in international contests. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

A young woman poses for a selfie at Red Square which is under preparations for the Victory Parade during sunset in Moscow, Russia, Monday, April 26, 2021. Russia will celebrate celebrate 76 years of the victory in WWII on May 9, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Enthusiast Desirae Hepp, dressed as "Immortan Joe," poses for a portrait during Wasteland Weekend event in California City, California September 26, 2015. The four-day event has a post-apocalyptic theme and is inspired by the Mad Max movie franchise. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Women walk past a pile of rubbish bags on a street during a strike by garbage collectors demanding delayed salaries in Sanaa, Yemen May 8, 2017. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/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)

“Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian Tatar dancer from the former Soviet Union, primarily known for his work in ballet. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women. He defected to the West, despite KGB efforts to stop him. According to KGB archives studied by Peter Watson, Nikita Khrushchev personally signed an order to have Nureyev killed”.

Photo: British ballerina Margot Fonteyn (Margaret Hookham) (1919 – 1991) and her professional partner during his tenure with the Royal Ballet Rudolf Nureyev. (Photo by Potter/Express/Getty Images). 12th December 1965. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)