The Kiss of Life A Timeless Photograph That Captured Heroism Humanity and the Power to Save a Life

The kiss of life is not just a photograph; It is a powerful and emotional reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of human connection. It was taken in 1967 by Roko Morabito, then the photography received a Pulitzer Prize and has been in the spotlight ever since. More than 50 years later, it still shows the beauty of people and their boundless strength in the face of imminent danger. There’s going to be a little more about the story behind it and the person who managed to capture it.
Two utilities, J.D. Thompson and Randall G. Champion, were conducting another test of the power line in Texas when Champion accidentally touched one of the low-voltage lines at the top of the pole. Fortunately, he had a seat belt on that prevented him from falling, but when this happened, he stopped breathing.

Thompson quickly took action and began to give his colleague a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Despite the fact that he was unable to provide CPR, he continued to blow air into Champion’s lungs until he felt a weak pulse. A few seconds after taking the picture, Thompson shouted, “He’s breathing.” He then unbuckled Champion from his seat belt and lowered him to the ground, where another employee took command and performed CPR.
Thanks to the quick and heroic efforts of Thompson and other workers, Champion was revived when paramedics arrived. He fully recovered and lived another 35 years.

Thompson was considered a hero that day, but he doesn’t consider himself one, saying, “If there were other people there, if I hadn’t gotten there first, they would have done exactly the same thing as me. This has been done many times – people’s lives were saved,” he said. “But there were no pictures.”
Journalist Roko Morabito, who worked for the Jacksonville Journal, was returning from covering a railroad strike when he saw a worker hanging from a pole. He used the car radio to tell the newspaper to call an ambulance, and after taking the photo, he called again on the radio, saying, “Maybe you’ll want to wait. I think I have a pretty good picture. โ
The magazine passed the deadline that day to publish a picture of Rock, and editor Bob Pitt gave it the memorable title “Kiss of Life.” Rocco’s photograph was published in newspapers around the world, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, the highest prize in journalism, and it still exists more than 50 years later.