Faithful jump into the waters of Fasilides Bath as part of a ceremony in which the waters are blessed by the priest of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church during the second day of Timket in Gondar, Ethiopia, January 20, 2016. “Timket”, the greatest Ethiopian festival of the year is to commemorate Jesus Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Snow covered mountains are seen from the waters of Unstad along the northern Atlantic Ocean on March 12, 2017, where the water temperatures is at five degrees centigrade and the air temperature is at minus two degrees centigrade. Unstad, the world' s most northern surf school, is perfect for those wanting to experience Arctic Surfing. (Photo by Olivier Morin/AFP Photo)

Young Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, Slovakia, April 9, 2012. Slovakia's men splash women with water to symbolize youth, strength and beauty for the upcoming spring season. (Photo by Samuel Kubani/AFP)

Russian Orthodox believers take a dip in the ice cold water of a pond during the celebrations of the Orthodox Epiphany holiday, in Moscow, Russia on January 18, 2024. People believe that dipping into blessed waters during the holiday of Epiphany strengthens their spirit and body. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

A Capybara bathes in the hot spring water at the Saitama Children's zoo in Higashi Matsuyama city, Saitama prefecture on December 21, 2014. Seven capybaras in the zoo, originally from South America, enjoyed the hot spring water on the chilly winter day in Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

An Indian girl smiles under a water splash at a water park as the temperatures reached 38 degree Celsius in Calcutta, eastern India, 12 June 2016. The summer or pre-monsoon season lasts from March to July in eastern India with the highest day temperatures ranging from 38 to 45 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

Model Kendall Jenner attends FIJI Water at HFPA's Official Viewing and After-Party at the Wilshire Garden inside The Beverly Hilton on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for FIJI Water)

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)