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)

English actress Kate Beckinsale at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images)

Model Joanna Krupa seen out and about leaving Craigs restaurant on April 21, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Traditional dancers are seen at Ela Beach, near a venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 13 November 2018. The APEC summit brings together world leaders from its 21 member nations and is being hosted for the first time by Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Mast Irham/EPA/EFE)

Colombian-American actress and TV personality Sofía Vergara in the second decade of December 2023 flaunts her figure in a body-hugging dress. (Photo by Sofiavergara/Instagram)

Russian dancer Katya Jones looked sensational in a bikini as she was spotted enjoying her time off on the Mykonos island, Greece on June 9, 2022. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Zhou Xiaoxuan, center, weeps as she speaks to her supporters upon arrival at a courthouse in Beijing, Wednesday, December 2, 2020. Zhou, a Chinese woman who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against a TV host, told dozens of cheering supporters at a courthouse Wednesday she hopes her case will encourage other victims of gender violence in a system that gives them few options to pursue complaints. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is launched as journalists film during a military exercise in Capas, Tarlac province, Philippines, 13 October 2022. The Philippines hosted simultaneous combat drills with the United States, South Korea, and Japan to improve interoperability in times of conflict. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA/EFE)