Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist renowned for his fearless war coverage from Vietnam to Iraq, has died at the age of 91 after a battle with prostate cancer. His death on Wednesday marks the loss of one of modern journalism’s most iconic figures, whose on-the-ground reporting brought global conflicts into living rooms worldwide.
Arnett passed away in Newport Beach, California, surrounded by family and friends, his son Andrew confirmed. The New Zealand-born correspondent had been in hospice care since Saturday, succumbing to prostate cancer that he had been battling. His career spanned over four decades, during which he dodged bullets and bombs to deliver eyewitness accounts from some of the 20th century’s most significant battlefields.
Arnett first gained prominence as an Associated Press correspondent in Vietnam, where he arrived in 1962 and stayed until the fall of Saigon in 1975. In 1966, he won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his Vietnam War coverage, solidifying his reputation for gritty, immersive journalism. One of his most harrowing experiences came in January 1966 when he stood next to U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel George Eyster as a Viet Cong sniper’s bullets killed the officer inches from his face, a moment Arnett later recalled with vivid detail.
He became a household name during the First Gulf War in 1991, when as a CNN correspondent he broadcast live from Baghdad as missiles rained down on the city. While most Western journalists had evacuated, Arnett stayed behind, delivering calm, real-time updates via cellphone from his hotel room, with air-raid sirens blaring in the background. His reporting from the Iraqi capital, including exclusive interviews with President Saddam Hussein, made him a cable news star and pioneered live war coverage.
Beyond Vietnam and Iraq, Arnett’s career was marked by both acclaim and controversy. He was expelled from Indonesia early in his career for reporting on the country’s economic troubles, and later faced backlash for interviews with figures like Osama bin Laden. In 2003, he was fired from NBC for granting an interview to Iraqi state television in which he criticized U.S. military strategy, a move that drew accusations of being anti-American but did not end his career.
Arnett’s tenure at CNN ended in 1999 after the network retracted an investigative report he narrated, though he was not involved in its production. Despite setbacks, he continued reporting for international outlets, including stations in Taiwan, the UAE, and Belgium, and later taught journalism at China’s Shantou University. He authored a memoir, “Live From the Battlefield,” in 1995, chronicling his experiences in war zones.
Born in Riverton, New Zealand, in 1934, Arnett began his journalism career at the Southland Times after high school. A chance stop in Thailand led him to work for English-language newspapers in Southeast Asia, eventually joining the AP. After retiring in 2014, he lived in Fountain Valley, California, with his wife, Nina Nguyen. He is survived by her and their two children, Elsa and Andrew.
Arnett’s legacy is that of a trailblazer who risked his life to bring truth to the public, influencing generations of journalists. His ability to report from the heart of conflicts, from the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, set a standard for war correspondence. As tributes pour in from around the world, his death is mourned not only by the media community but by all who value courageous storytelling in the face of danger.
