A visitor views the work of artists Gonzalo Duran and Cheri Pann at their Mosaic Tile House in Venice, California U.S., August 26, 2016. With an array of thrift store china, humorous souvenirs and handmade tile adorning its walls and floors, the Mosaic Tile House in Venice stands as a monument to two decades of artistic collaboration between Cheri Pann and husband Gonzalo Duran. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

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)

Body surfers ride a large wave at the Wedge in Newport Beach of the Southland coast on May 20, 2011 in Newport, California. Surfers have been lured to the south facing beaches for the biggest swells of the season. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Bullfighter Julian Lopez “El Juli” of Spain performs during the second bullfight of the 2011 season at the Monumental bullring on July 10, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. This will be the last year for Bull fighting at the Monumental bullring as the parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting as of January 1, 2012. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Farmers play tug of war in a paddy field on National Paddy Day in Tokha village, on the outskirt of capital Kathmandu, Nepal, 29 June 2021. Nepal is celebrating National Paddy Day with various events on 29 June. On this day, known as Asar Pandra, farmers begin the annual rice planting season and mark the day with various festivities such as preparing rice meals with muddy water, mud being a symbol for a prosperous season. Sixty percent of Nepal's agriculture industry relies on monsoon rain while 40 percent is carried out through irrigation. Agriculture is a major contributor to the country's GDP. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

Nicki Minaj happily gives her to her loyal fans following her very emotional tribute speech to late rapper Juice Wrld at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Hollywood, Thursday, December 12, 2019. In her speech, Minaj stated, “I know this is a Women In Music night and I'm so honored to be in the presence of all of these great women. It doesn't feel comfortable for me to talk about me when someone so important to our culture just died. I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice Wrld...I felt like he was a kindred spirit”. (Photo by Perez/X17/SIPA Press)

Kashir Mir, 34, poses for a photograph at his workplace, Juliet Wig Shop, in the London constituency of Brent Central, Britain, April 13, 2015. Mir, who was born in Pakistan, said: “I will vote but it's a secret. I also hope they can manage immigration better as I have been stopped and interviewed for hours returning from Pakistan. I'm an honest man, working here and paying my tax”. Brent, a northwest London neighbourhood that's home to Wembley football stadium, is among the most ethnically diverse areas in the United Kingdom. As the country approaches a closely fought election on May 7, Reuters photographer Eddie Keogh visited shopkeepers to get their views on the poll. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Reuters)

An Emirati man sits outside an old house at the Heritage Village in Dubai, UAE March 13, 2016. The Heritage Village was created in 1997 in Al Shindagha Historical Neighborhood in Dubai, close to the Diving Village, to embrace the heritage events and to display a live image of the old traditional life in UAE. It represents the components of wild, marine, and mountain life, where the visitor can identify closely the old traditional customs of the country and the special characteristics of old houses, handicrafts, patterns, and forms of living. It is owned and managed by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. (Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)