AP photographer Nick Ut, who retired in 2017 after a 51-year career with The Associated Press, received the National Medal of Arts at the White House.

He is the first journalist to receive the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the federal government.

The National Medal of Arts is awarded by the President of the United States to individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the U.S.

Ut, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, is known best for his iconic “Terror of War” picture from the Vietnam War, an image captured in 1972 that helped heighten awareness of the conflict. He was 21 years old when he took the shocking photo of terrified 9-year-old Kim Phuc running down a country road, her body burning from napalm bombs dropped on her village.

South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Immediately after taking the shot, Ut put down his camera and rushed Phuc to a hospital, where doctors saved her life.

In 1989, Ut and Phuc were reunited in Havana, where Phuc was in medical school. In the years since, the two have become close friends.

Ut was hired by AP in Saigon in March 1966. He replaced his older brother, Huynh Thanh My, who had been working as a photographer with AP and was killed by the Viet Cong in 1965. My was a gifted photographer and had already taught Nick how to use a camera.

This minidocumentary traces the origins of one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century, Nick Ut's "Burning Girl," taken on June 8, 1972. (AP Corporate Archives)

Newsmen and family members attend the funeral for AP photographer Huynh Thanh My, killed on the job, Oct. 1965. At far left wearing head band is his 16-year-old brother Huynh Cong (Nick) Ut. Others include Ed White, Rick Merron, Huynh Thanh My's w… — Newsmen and family members attend the funeral for AP photographer Huynh Thanh My, killed on the job, Oct. 1965. At far left wearing head band is his 16-year-old brother Huynh Cong (Nick) Ut. Others include Ed White, Rick Merron, Huynh Thanh My's widow (wearing white hood), Peter Arnett, Dirck Halstead, Neil Sheehan (New York Press), Bill Ha Van Tran (AP), Eddie Adams (AP), Vo Huynh (NBC), Malcolm Brown and Bob Liu (AP). (AP Photo)

Associated Press Saigon staffer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut works in the darkroom of the new AP bureau in the Eden Building, ca. 1966. Ut was about 15 at the time. He went on to shoot one of the war's most iconic images, and won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for… — Associated Press Saigon staffer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut works in the darkroom of the new AP bureau in the Eden Building, ca. 1966. Ut was about 15 at the time. He went on to shoot one of the war's most iconic images, and won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. (AP Photo)

South Vietnamese Marines rush to point where descending U.S. Army helicopter will pick them up after a sweep east of the Cambodian town of Prey-Veng in June, 1970 during the Vietnam War. The troops have been searching for a Viet Cong unit reported to be in the area. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

South Vietnamese troops eight miles West of Dong HA, South Vietnam, watch smoke billow skywards as B525 hit a North Vietnamese tank column attacking the position on April 11, 1972. (AP Photo/Nick Ut )

South Vietnamese parents with their five children ride along Highway 13, fleeing southwards from An Loc toward Saigon on June 19, 1972. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A refugee clutches her baby as a government helicopter gunship carries them away near Tuy Hoa, 235 miles northeast of Saigon on Mar. 22, 1975. (AP Photo/ Nick Ut)

A South Vietnamese Marine naps in a hammock in an abandoned house in Quang Tri City, Vietnam, on Aug. 24, 1972, his weapons and equipment nearby. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

After working in Vietnam, Ut did a stint at AP’s Tokyo bureau before relocating to Los Angeles in 1977. There, he shot a wide variety of stories, from earthquakes to fires to celebrities to business to crime until his retirement from AP in 2017.

Ut has won numerous prizes for his pictures, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for Spot Photography — the youngest photographer to win the award — and the World Press Photo Award the same year, all for his photo of the young Kim Phuc. In June 2016, Ut received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Press Club, and Kim Phuc was by his side.