DO NOT 'become his friend' ! Just be genuinely happy for him and treat him no different than before. All those guys will be dealing with allllll their 'newfound friends', phony charities and all sorts of blood suckers. If anything, help isolate his family from the scumbag gold diggers.
Personally, I'd set my wife and I up comfortably for life(including a few open road races), 2 years college paid for all 12 grandkids (oops ! # 13 in the oven now !), and a whole bunch would go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project.