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)

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)

A young boy adjusts his friend's Adolf Hitler mask during a game on a street in King's Cross, London. (Photo by William Vanderson/Getty Images). 1938

Anna Malova, Miss Russia 1998, poses on a pool table at The Campbell Apartment restaurant in Grand Central Station on November 18, 1999. She makes her motion picture debut in the movie “Above Ground”. (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Students run out of their school celebrating their high school graduation at Nacka Gymnasium following the spread of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) in Stockholm, Sweden, June 3, 2020. (Photo by Jessica Gow/TT News Agency via Reuters)

Indian actress Freida Pinto attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/VF20/WireImage)

Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards of English girl group Little Mix celebrate getting number 1 UK single backstage at Echo Arena on July 18, 2015 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Ollie Millington/Redferns)

“Russian businessman” and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich arrives at The High Court on October 4, 2011 in London, England. “Russian businessman” Boris Berezovsky is alleging a breach of contract over business deals with Mr. Abramovich and is claiming more than Ј3.2bn in damages. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)