Tried to tell him what, exactly?
Sounds to me like he did it right.
He was counting on living long enough to get tired of the new wife and finding a newer one. In Viet nNam his $600 a month SS made him a rich sort-of-American and he could attract youngish women. He also had a $20k life insurance for which his relatives here immediately launched an attempt to obtain. The lady in Viet Nam eventually got it. I am glad. She deserves it for putting up with him for a year. For her it is a very large sum. His sisters here would have spent it all in a week.