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 giant sinkhole in Guatemala City, on May 31, 2010. More than 94,000 were evacuated as the storm buried homes under mud, swept away a highway bridge near Guatemala City and opened up several sinkholes in the capital. (Photo by Casa Presidencial/Reuters via The Atlantic)

Three prostitutes lean out of a window in Santiago, Chile, in an attempt to entice customers inside, circa 1950. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Baltimore Orioles center fielder Austin Hays leaps while taking the field prior to the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Baltimore. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

Natalia Lage Rainha de Drums of the Escola de Samba Inocente de Belford Roxo during a presentation in the parade of the Special Group of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro at Avenida Marques de Sapucai, Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro on April 21, 2021. The Carnival parades that take place in February were postponed to this month of April due to the high number of cases caused during the pandemic caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF via AFP Photo)

Chloe Kelly and Alex Greenwood of England pose during the official FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 portrait session on July 18, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

A child poses for a photo inside a life-sized doll box after watching the “Barbie” film at the SM North Edsa in Quezon City on July 19, 2023. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim mourns as he flagellates himself during a Muharram procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Muharram is a month of mourning for Shiite Muslims in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)