LIFE in the Vietnam War

The view from inside Marine helicopter Yankee Papa 13, Vietnam, March 1965. (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

After standing outside the copter, giving the thumbs-up signal for take-off, Farley ducked into the belly door and took his place at a gun station. Twenty-five minutes later, Yankee Papa 13 picked up its cargo of troops. With nine South Vietnamese soldiers and Burrows aboard, the cabin of the copter was close and sweaty. "But there was a fine breeze aloft," LIFE reported, "and for that all were grateful." (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

 
Yankee Papa 13 touches down and Farley holds his fire as South Vietnamese soldiers scramble past his machine gun to join their comrades, who were jumping out of other copters for an assault against the Vietcong. (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

In a supply shack, hands covering his face, an exhausted, worn James Farley gives way to grief. (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

 United States Marines Helicopter Squadron huddled at Da Nang in 1963 for the final briefing on a March 31, 1965, mission: to airlift a battalion of Vietnamese infantry to an isolated area about 20 miles away. (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Back at Da Nang, wounded Sergeant Owens is eased out of the copter by Farley and a fellow Marine. (Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)