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)

Going nowhere in a hurry, this friendly Javan Tree frog can be seen casually hopping aboard the slow-paced snail who like a lonely highway trucker is only too happy to have the company. These cute critters chew the fat until froggy reaches his destination and alights at the top of the branch. Creative Designer and amateur photographer Kurit Afsheen (34) was able to capture this special sequence while out in his back garden in Ciledug, Indonesia. (Photo by Kurit Afsheen/Media Drum World)

In this Wednesday, January 3, 2018 photo, yoga instructor Danuta Wolk-Laniewski, demonstrates goat yoga at the Aussakita Acres farm in Manchester, Conn. The farm is partnering with the Hartford Yard Goats, the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, to offer goat yoga at Dunkin Donuts Park, the team's $71 million stadium in Hartford. (Photo by Pat Eaton-Robb/AP Photo)

This picture taken on January 6, 2018 shows macaque monkeys looking at a man's camera during snowfall at Wulongkou Nature Reserve in Jiyuan in China's central Henan province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Dancers perform during a general rehearsal of “Kreatur” (Creature) by German choreographer Sasha Waltz in collaboration with artist and fashion designer Iris van Herpen and light designer Urs Schoenebaum in Berlin, Germany on June 8, 2017. (Photo by Stefanie Loos/Reuters)

A goggle-wearing dog is strapped to a motorcycle driver's back as they wait at a stoplight in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, October 9, 2024. (Photo by Fernando Vergara/AP Photo)

A hunter holds her tamed golden eagle during a traditional hunting contest near the village of Tole Bi in Almaty region, Kazakhstan on November 9, 2024. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)