🧑‍🦱 Who Is Nick Ut?

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📷 Nick Ut (birth name Huỳnh Công Út) is a Vietnamese-American photojournalist best known for a single photograph that became one of the most iconic images of the 20th century. He was born on March 29, 1951, in Bình Quới, Vietnam and started working as a photographer for the Associated Press (AP) at about age 15, after his older brother — also a photographer — was killed in the Vietnam War.

He spent over 50 years with AP, covering wars, historic events, everyday life, and even celebrity moments.

📷 His Most Famous Image: The Terror of War (aka “Napalm Girl”)

Nick Ut’s most famous photograph — known as The Terror of War — was taken on June 8, 1972 during the Vietnam War.

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This powerful image shows children, including a 9-year-old girl named Phan Thị Kim Phúc, running down a road after their village was hit by a napalm attack.

🔹 The image was originally titled The Terror of War but became widely known as “Napalm Girl.” 🔹 It won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and was a defining image of the Vietnam War era. 🔹 The photo helped open global eyes to the reality of war and is credited with shaping public opinion about the conflict.

📸 Notice the emotion and urgency in this captured moment — it tells a story no words alone ever could.

❤️ What Happened After the Photo

One of the most remarkable parts of this story is what Nick did after taking it: when he saw that the young girl (Kim Phúc) was badly burned, he put down his camera, carried her to his car, and drove her to a hospital, where doctors ultimately saved her life.

This act showed not just professionalism, but deep compassion and humanity. 💗

🎖️ Later Life & Awards

• Nick Ut covered other wars and major events throughout his career — in Cambodia, Laos, and beyond.

• After the fall of Saigon in 1975, he eventually moved to the United States and continued his career in Los Angeles.

• He won many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, World Press Photo of the Year, and later the National Medal of Arts from the U.S. government.

• Nick retired from AP in 2017 after more than five decades of photojournalism.

🧠 Notes on Attribution

There has been recent debate in the photography world about who actually took the photo credited to Nick Ut, sparked by a documentary (The Stringer). Some claim another photographer may have taken it. However, the Associated Press has reviewed the evidence and continues to credit Ut, and the Pulitzer Prize he received for the image remains in his name.

📌 Why His Work Matters

Nick Ut’s story isn’t just about one photo — it’s about the power of visual storytelling to:

✨ awaken global emotion✨ influence public opinion✨ humanize people caught in historic moments