Iconic Image 7

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This month's Iconic Image is...

The Kiss of Life

Intro

This photograph depicts two construction workers dangling from a power line. One of them is completely limp, while the other man is holding him in his arms. He is holding his head and giving him CPR. The image would become a symbol of human determination and companionship. 

Part I

The photograph was taken on July 17, 1967. On that day, Rocco Morabito of the Jacksonville Journal was heading to document a strike by railroad workers. When he was about half way to the strike, he noticed two Jacksonville Electric Authority linemen working on the poles on West 26th Street. Rocco figured that a picture of linemen silhouetted against the sky would make a good picture. He decided that he would return to West 26th Street once he was done with the train strike, he would circle back to the linemen.

After taking a few pictures at the railroad strike, Rocco quickly returned to the linemen. As he got closer he began to hear screams and calls for help. He quickly rushed to the scene and saw something that took his breath away. One of the linemen was dangling from his safety belt while completely limp. Rocco quickly raised his camera as another lineman ran over to the telephone pole and began climbing to his co-worker. He snapped a couple of photographs as the rescuer grabbed his co-worker and began to perform CPR. 

Part II

Both men in the photograph have been identified. The hero of the image is J.D. Thompson. The man being rescued was named, Randall Champion. Thompson was working on a pole adjacent to his colleague when he heard the unmistakable noise of electricity short circuiting. He looked and saw to his horror, that Champion had accidentally grabbed a hot wire. The wire sent more than 2400 jolts of electricity through the latter's system burning out his left foot and knocking him unconscious.

Fearing the worst, Thompson quickly descended from his pole and climbed up to Champion (another linemen quickly cut the power to the wire). When he reached him, Thompson noticed that Champion was turning a deep grayish blue. He quickly cradled his colleague's head in his left arm and proceeded to breath directly into Champion's mouth. He did this while pounding the latter's back with his right arm. After doing this for nearly a minute, Thompson saw Champion's chest starting to rise. Seconds later, he regained consciousness. 

Moments later, an ambulance arrived and rushed Champion to the hospital. By then Rocco Morabito had captured the whole moment in a burst of photos. Little did he know, that one of them would become a major icon in the history of photography.

Epilogue

When Rocco Morabito submitted his photograph of J.D. Thompson giving CPR to Randall Champion, it instantly made the front page headlines of newspapers all around the world. It was labeled, "The Kiss of Life". People called it, "an incredible act of heroism, a life or death moment, all captured by Rocco in a split second". Ten months later, Rocco Morabito's image won the coveted Pulitzer Prize.

Although Randall Champion had suffered severe third degree burns on his left foot (and needed skin-grafts), he made a full recovery from the incident. He and J.D. Thompson remained close friends until his death in 2002. Thompson still lives in Florida. Despite being called a hero many times, he continually downplays his actions that day. When interviewed in 2017, Thompson was quoted as saying, "If other people were there, if I hadn't got there first, they would have done the exact same thing I did. It's been done many times before; peoples' lives were saved. But there were no pictures."

Rocco Morabito also remained good friends with both Champion and Thompson. He continued to work for the Jacksonville Journal until his retirement in 1982. He passed away on April 5, 2009, at the age of 88. Today, the Kiss of Life continues to awe and inspire millions of people all over the world. It is remembered as a great moment of friendship and humanity.

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20170716/50-years-later-kiss-of-life-photo-still-stops-people-in-their-tracks

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/kiss-of-life-hero-reflects-50-years-after-iconic-moment/65-454108459

https://mdorfster.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/critical-analysis-the-kiss-of-life/

https://allthatsinteresting.com/kiss-of-life