Waters died Wednesday in Florida, after several years of failing health, his daughter, Karen Wiley, said. He was 86.
Waters was born in Alabama. He was 17 when he joined the Navy in World War II, earning a Purple Heart. He later joined the Army and trained as a photographer.
Waters was hired by AP in 1952 and covered the Korean War, the French-Indochina War and Vietnam. He transferred to St Louis in 1962 and stayed until he retired in 1987.