Levinthal began creating photographic references to the Vietnam War in 2010, spurred by the availability of a higher quality and number of toy replicas related to the conflict. Helicopter references the opening sequence from Francis Ford Coppola's iconic 1979 film Apocalypse Now, in which Huey helicopters fly in front of a massive napalm explosion. With just a few visual elements, Levinthal conjures a vivid and instantly recognizable picture of the Vietnam War.