Bales had a bad moment

I am in no way condoning what Sgt. Robert Bales did in Afghanistan, but my heart goes out to him and his family. It goes out to him because I think all the needless crud that is coming out about his past is totally unnecessary, and I agree with his lawyer when he refuses to comment on these things as it has nothing to do with what he did to those people.

Sgt. Bales, I know you will never see this letter, but I want to say “thank you” for serving our country, for the medals that you earned, along with all the recognition. I feel that you don’t deserve what is happening to you now. I believe that you had a moment when you just snapped, and who hasn’t had those times?

You stated that you did not want to go to Afghanistan, so why did our military send you again, especially after having been deployed three times before? I believe you are a good man; you just had a moment of weakness from the things that you saw around you.

We are all human and, believe it or not, we all make mistakes. I know I have!

David Noggles

Electric City, Wash.