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)

A model is seen backstage, having makeup applied, ahead of the Casely-Hayford show during The London Collections Men SS17 at BFC Show Space on June 11, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

A Fiat 500c is unveiled at the New York International Auto Show April 21, 2011 in New York City. The New York Auto Show is one of the largest auto shows in the country. (Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

Cara Delevingne poses onstage for Savage X Fenty Show Presented By Amazon Prime Video – Show Sneak Peak at Barclays Center on September 10, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Presented by Amazon Prime Video)

A horse at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, UK on July 9, 2025. The county show is expecting to attract 140,000 visitors over four days. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)

Joseph's Amazing Racing Pigs entertain the crowds at the Gillingham And Shaftesbury Spring Countryside Show, on June 09, 2024 in Shaftesbury, England. The countryside show celebrates Dorset's rural life, traditions and culture. Initially set to be the first countryside show of Dorset's rural calendar but now featuring near the end of Spring after a postponement due to a waterlogged showground. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

Photo taken on January 3, 2018 shows the snow-light show at the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Snow Wonderland, a 3D snow-light show applying modern sound, light and digital technologies has been displayed at Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo recent days. (Photo by Wang Jianwei/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Dublin Horse Show mascot “Conor the Capall” among the crowds on the opening day of the 147th Dublin Horse Show at the RDS on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, the first to be held since 2019. The event which was first held in 1864 takes place over the next five days and includes national and international show jumping competitions. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images)