This checks out with other stories I've heard in military circles, especially when it comes to southeast Asia. Back in 2007, I had an acquaintance I worked with; shortly before he left the service, he was telling me about 'a woman he met while on leave in Thailand' that he was totally smitten with, and his plans to move there and marry her. (If you saw what this cat looked like, the country bumpkin he was, it'd be easy to conclude as to why he would opt to visit a country like that...just saying.) Anyways, he actually followed through on it and we kept in touch regularly until he went radio silent in 2010- his email addy finally went offline in 2020.

My guess is that, knowing him, he fell for something shady and is no longer among the living.