Yankee Papa 13, March 31, 1965
Gelatin silver print—printed c. 1998–2002
14 × 11 in.
May 5, 2025
Sixty years ago, this searing image was what LIFE magazine subscribers saw on the cover, when they received their copies of the April 16th, 1965 issue. The photo essay inside, illustrated by embedded war photographer Larry Burrows, told the gut wrenching story of an ill-fated mission aboard the U.S. Marine helicopter “Yankee Papa 13," with one of the first U.S. combat squadrons deployed to Vietnam. Larry Burrows was onboard with the helicopter's crew when they came under heavy fire, and he captured the moments when fallen crew members died in the arms of their fellow Marines.
Burrows had a gift for framing the war in personal terms, and photographs like this one directly shaped the public’s perception of the war and its human toll. Working in LIFE's London office in the 1950s, Burrows had earned a reputation as an exceptionally dedicated photojournalist who went the extra mile to get a shot. His dedication to his craft reached new heights in Vietnam, where his commitment to being on the front lines gave his photos a visceral quality due to the fact that he was more a participant than an observer. He continued to photograph in Vietnam, creating many iconic images, until his death in 1971 at the age of 44, when a helicopter he was riding in was shot down over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.
As domestic support for the war eroded in the 1970s, so too did troop morale, until U.S. combat involvement ended with the fall of Saigon, fifty years ago in April of 1975.
