In the summer of 1967, an ordinary workday on a quiet street in Jacksonville, Florida, transformed into one of the most powerful moments ever captured in photojournalism. A single image, frozen in time, documented an act of raw courage that saved a man’s life and went on to define an era of visual storytelling. That photograph, later known worldwide as “The Kiss of Life,” remains one of the most iconic and emotionally charged images in American journalism history, a testament to human instinct, workplace heroism, and the life-saving power of immediate action.
The image tells a story that words alone could never fully convey. Suspended high above the pavement on a utility pole, an unconscious electrical worker hangs motionless, held only by a safety harness. Another man, his coworker, balances beside him, leaning in to deliver mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while thousands of volts of electricity still hum through the surrounding lines. It is a scene of extreme danger, precision, and humanity colliding in a single breath.
The photographer who captured this moment, Rocco Morabito of the Jacksonville Journal, never intended to witness history that day. He was driving through the city on his way to cover a routine assignment, the kind that fills a reporter’s schedule without leaving a mark. The streets were familiar, the task unremarkable. By his own account, he felt bored, operating on autopilot as he navigated the neighborhood near West 26th Street.
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