WEST LOS ANGELES, Calif. - You might not recognize his name, but you know his work. Nick Ut worked as a photographer for the Associated Press for 51 years. He began his career as a combat photographer during the height of the Vietnam War.

His photos are appreciated by many in the press industry, and arguably his most iconic image was taken in 1972 titled “The Terror of War” featuring a 9-year-old girl running away from smoke with her arms wide open toward him.

“I tell myself why isn’t she wearing any clothes? And I ran closer to take a picture of her. Her armed so badly. Her back, you can see skin come off,” said Huynh Cong Ut, known professionally as Nick Ut. 

Ut said he immediately put his camera down when he realized how badly burned the young girl was. He poured the water in his canteen over her body and took her to a nearby hospital. 

Ut didn’t go to a school to learn how to be a photographer. He said his older brother, Huynh Thanh My, a photographer working for the Associated Press at the time, taught him how to take photos. 

“I remember it was in 1964. I lived outside Saigon, and my brother taught me photography. I was only 13 or 14 years old,” said Ut. 

His older brother was killed during an assignment, and he was offered a position with the AP shortly after that. His new job took him up and down Vietnam and to neighboring countries during the war. 

“I see people die right in front of my eyes, every minute,” said Ut. 

He said he didn’t leave Vietnam until three days before the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1075. He recalled standing in his office and looking outside his window and seeing people flee in different directions. He eventually agreed to board a plane with other Vietnamese staff members of the American Press after he ran home to say goodbye to his mother.

“All the Vietnamese staff and we go on the airplane together. There was a lot of Vietnamese officers and their families, so many children, old people. I looked out my window and I cried because I’m leaving my country,” said Ut.

He spent a month in a refugee camp and was eventually taken to Los Angeles where he continued working for the AP until two years ago when he retired. Since then, Ut has still continued to take photos, travel the world to speak to people and appear at exhibits dedicated to his work. There is an exhibit about his journey “From Hell to Hollywood” at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles which can be seen through June. 

Despite his tough journey, Ut considers himself lucky for being able to have a successful career. He said he thinks of Vietnam often, the photos he took there, and what he saw especially around the anniversary of the fall of Saigon.