July 1967. Jacksonville, Florida. Photographer Rocco Morabito is returning from an assignment. While driving past earlier, he'd seen some men from the Jacksonville Electricity Authority working on an utility pole (1/9) 
He decides to make a stop and take a few snaps. Just as he pulled up, Rocco is startled by cries and shouts. Morabito rushed out & pointed his lens up at the sky. The sight that met him was startling (2/9)
Randall Champion was a maintenance lineman. At that instant, he'd been brushed by one of the open lines at the top of the pole & immediately knocked unconscious. Prevented by his harness from falling down, Champion hung precariously from the pole (3/9)
JD Thompson was Champion's partner. At that moment, he was on another pole 400 feet away. On spotting Champion's predicament, Thompson rushed down & ran at top speed towards Champion's pole (4/9)
Within seconds, Thompson was next to Champion's limp form. He realised his friend needed urgent CPR to survive but he also realised that there was no way he could administer CPR to Champion who was hanging upside down (5/9)
There wasn't enough time to bring Champion down either. Thompson's subsequent actions saved the life of his friend. Desperate & running out of options, he decided to pump air into Champion's lungs orally (6/9)
He grabbed Champion's head, formed a lip-lock, pushing air in, all the while hitting Champion's chest with a fist. After a while, Thompson felt a faint pulse. A wave of relief surged over him (7/9)
Unbuckling the harness, Thompson put his friend's body on his shoulder & brought him down. On level ground, Thompson & a co-worker performed CPR and Champion was semiconscious by the time medics arrived (8/9)
Thompson's life saving act was stored for eternity in Morabito's camera. The picture which came to be known as "Kiss of Life" & won the 1968 Pullitzer Prize and remains one of the most iconic human images of all time (9/9)
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