Newly commissioned officers toss their hats during the US Coast Guard Academy's 144th Commencement in New London, Connecticut, on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

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)

The mother (2nd R) of missing firefighter Xue Ning is helped by other family members as she cries outside the venue of a news conference after trying to demand for more information from government officials, following the explosions on Wednesday night at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 15, 2015. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A Haka is performed before the ceremonial departure of the 'vaka' or traditional canoes ahead of their cross-Pacific voyage from Viaduct Harbour on April 13, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. Powered by sun and wind only, the 15,000 nautical mile journey to Hawaii via French Polynesia will set off on April 15, aiming to raise awareness of environmental issues such as ocean noise pollution, acidification and anoxic waters, whilst recapturing traditional Pacific voyaging. The votyage is named “Te Mana o Te Moana” meaning “The Spirit of the Sea”. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

In this handout provided by Maritime New Zealand, MV Rena is seen in two pieces after overnight bad weather pounded the vessel, on January 8, 2012 in Tauranga, New Zealand. (Photo by Maritime New Zealand via Getty Images)

Italian singer Elodie performs on stage at the Ariston theatre during the 71st Sanremo Italian Song Festival, in Sanremo, Italy, 03 March 2021. The festival runs from 02 to 06 March. (Photo by Ettore Ferrari/EPA/EFE)

South Korean environmental activists wearing masks symbolizing the coronavirus attend a prevention campaign as South Koreans take measures to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 30, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea has called for expanded public participation in social distancing, as the country witnesses a wave of community spread and imported infections leading to a resurgence in new cases of COVID-19. According to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, 78 new cases were reported. The total number of infections in the nation tallies at 9,661. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A member of the Knights Guard cleans the ice during the Vegas Golden Knights' game against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena on April 28, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche 5-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images via AFP Photo)