proceeded to get in. all i knew, i was on the ground. million dollar baby. this man was once homeless. now he s on the brink of becoming a million-dollar champ. meet the man and hear his amazing story live. that and more right here right now on cnn. stand by. good evening, everyone. i m don lemon. until just a few minutes ago, we had only heard of him as one of two u.s. service men killed this weekend in afghanistan. but now it has become all too real as we learn his name and we see his face. he is lieutenant colonel john loftus, a 44-year-old air force officer from paducah, kentucky. loftus died at a kabul ministry saturday along with another u.s. officer who has yet to be identified. loftus, like you and me, has a family, a family, a mother who is mourning tonight. we ll hear from the mother in this broadcast in just a few minutes. colonel loftus died because of this, protests raging in afghanistan over the improper disposal of the burning of the koran at a nato base.