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)

Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jaqueline Rodriguez subdues a simulated suspect after being sprayed with oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray during security training aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph M. Buliavac/Released). May 10, 2011

Kashir Mir, 34, poses for a photograph at his workplace, Juliet Wig Shop, in the London constituency of Brent Central, Britain, April 13, 2015. Mir, who was born in Pakistan, said: “I will vote but it's a secret. I also hope they can manage immigration better as I have been stopped and interviewed for hours returning from Pakistan. I'm an honest man, working here and paying my tax”. Brent, a northwest London neighbourhood that's home to Wembley football stadium, is among the most ethnically diverse areas in the United Kingdom. As the country approaches a closely fought election on May 7, Reuters photographer Eddie Keogh visited shopkeepers to get their views on the poll. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Reuters)

Nicki Minaj happily gives her to her loyal fans following her very emotional tribute speech to late rapper Juice Wrld at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Hollywood, Thursday, December 12, 2019. In her speech, Minaj stated, “I know this is a Women In Music night and I'm so honored to be in the presence of all of these great women. It doesn't feel comfortable for me to talk about me when someone so important to our culture just died. I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice Wrld...I felt like he was a kindred spirit”. (Photo by Perez/X17/SIPA Press)

Magdalena Vasquez, also known as “Bgirl Mags” (R) and Chris Cielo, also known as “Bboy Cielo” (L) perform during a media call for the Red Bull BC One breakdancing competition at the Brisbane Powerhouse in Brisbane, Australia, 01 July 2025. The world's biggest one-on-one breakdancing competition, the Red Bull BC One have announced Brisbane as the host city for the 2025 Red Bull BC One Cypher Australia. (Photo by Darren England/EPA)

A woman mourns the loss of her husband, next to a placard which reads “I'm a pusher”, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manila on July 23, 2016. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power in May on a promise to clampdown on drugs, and police have since confirmed killing nearly 200 people in a two-month crime blitz. There has also been a surge in killings by anti-drug vigilantes who leave victims' corpses on city streets wrapped in packaging tape with signs accusing them of being drug dealers. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

An employee controls the arms of a manned biped walking robot “METHOD-2” during a demonstration in Gunpo, South Korea, December 27, 2016. It stands 13-feet (3,96 m) tall, weighs 1.3 tons and wields a pair of 286-pound (129,73 kg), motion-tracking metal arms. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)