A freighter trapped in ice is shown in this aerial photo near Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario April 7, 2015. The biggest ice cover on the Great Lakes in decades is backing up shipments of everything from Canadian grain to U.S. iron and steel in one of North America's most important economic regions. (Photo by Kenneth Armstrong/Reuters)

“The Skeleton Krewe was founded in 1999 by Christopher Kirsch. Inspired by the early days of Carnival before tractors and floats replaced walking processions, the Krewe has become one of New Orleans' premier marching clubs. The Krewe began actively marching as a small group of friends, but has grown to 40 active members”. – The Skeleton Krewe. Photo: “The Skeleton Krewe 2013 – Manning”. (Photo by Kevin O'Mara)

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 opposition leader, Alexei Navalny (C), reacts as the court delivers the verdict in his trial, in the city of Kirov, Russia, 18 July 2013. Alexei Navalny was sentenced to five years in jail for theft on Thursday, an unexpectedly tough punishment which supporters said proved President Vladimir Putin was a dictator ruling by repression. (Photo by Valentina Svistunova/EPA)

Megan McKenna, Amber Turner and Yazmin Oukhellou sightings at Aristocats nightclub Mayfair on March 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Goff Photos)

“The Range Rover Evoque is a compact hatchback in production since 2011 from Land Rover. The production model was announced on July 1, 2010, and it designed to address the requirement for reduced CO2 emissions. A near production concept of the crossover SUV was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show as the Land Rover LRX in January 2008, and production began in 2011”. – Wikipedia

Photo: George Lamb attends the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque at Halewood Operations at Jaguar Land Rover on July 4, 2011 in Liverpool, England. The Range Rover Evoque started production on July 4th at Halewood Operations. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Range Rover)

The Washington Wizards dancers strike a pose during the team’s basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Capital One Arena on November 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Wizards won 142-127. (Photo by Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports via Reuters)

Sareee and Chihiro Hashimoto compete during the Women's Pro-Wrestling “Sareee-ISM” at Shinjuku FACE on May 16, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)