In the summer of 1967, a photographer named Rocco Morabito was driving through Jacksonville, Florida, feeling uncertain about his assignment for the day. As a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal, he was used to capturing typical local stories, but this day would offer something truly special. Two utility workers were performing their usual maintenance when an accident happened: Randall Champion grabbed a live electrical wire carrying over 4,000 volts. His heart stopped, and he hung motionless high on a pole.
His colleague, J.D. Thompson, wasted no time. He climbed to Champion’s side, unhooked his harness, and began giving mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths, risking his own life to save his friend. Watchers on the ground were stunned into silence as Thompson worked to bring Champion back from the brink of death.
Seeing this dramatic scene, Morabito pulled over and took a series of photographs. His decisive shots showed the helplessness, the courage, and the intense effort to save a life. Champion’s faint breathing soon returned, and paramedics took him to the hospital.
The picture, appropriately called “The Kiss of Life,” was published widely and earned Morabito the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1968. It remains one of the most impactful photos ever taken, illustrating not just the accident, but the unconditional courage and friendship between two men.
