LOS ANGELES (AP) — Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war from the rice paddies of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, has died at 91.

Arnett, who won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his Vietnam War coverage for The Associated Press, died Wednesday in Newport Beach, and was surrounded by friends and family, said his son Andrew Arnett. He had entered hospice on Saturday while suffering from prostate cancer.

Known mostly to fellow journalists during his tenure in Vietnam from 1962 until the war’s end in 1975, Arnett became a household name in 1991 after his live updates for CNN during the first Gulf War.

While most Western reporters fled Baghdad in the days leading up to the U.S.-led invasion, Arnett remained behind. He broadcast live from his hotel room as missiles began striking the city, capturing a moment of profound history.

“There was an explosion right near me, you may have heard,” he calmly reported, just after a missile strike echoed on air.

Combat in Vietnam

In January 1966, Arnett joined a battalion of U.S. soldiers and witnessed the horrors of war firsthand. Recalling a traumatic experience, he noted how he was beside a battalion commander when the colonel was fatally shot.

This incident marked a critical point in Arnett's career, as he began to cover the war with a deeper understanding of its stringent realities and dangers.

He reported for the AP throughout the war, safely storing crucial documents and papers that would later hold historical significance.

A Star on Cable News

Post-Vietnam, Arnett joined CNN in 1981 and covered the Gulf War ten years later. His bold journalism led to notable interviews with figures like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

Despite facing backlash for his reporting on U.S. military strategies, Arnett's resilience kept him in the field, finding new opportunities globally.

In 2007, he transitioned to academia, teaching journalism in China, and retired to Southern California in 2014.

Peter Arnett is remembered for his unyielding courage and commitment to journalism, surviving by sharing his powerful stories with the world.