To the Editors:

For the past 14 months, Iran won all the battles. In the end, the U.S. won the war [Feb. 2]. God bless America!

Carl E. Nixon Barberton, Ohio

The return of our hostages was stirring and emotional--and rightly so. However, I thought about the Viet Nam vets and how they must feel seeing this outpouring of love and comparing it with the "welcome" they received.

Edwina Z. Worsley Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As a Viet Nam War veteran, I wonder if most of the 50,000 lives that were lost in Viet Nam would have been spared if our citizens had cared then as they do now about their fellow Americans.

Bill Ryan Warren, Ohio

The 52 former hostages are seen as national heroes. I consider them survivors. A hero is one who is admired for his achievements and qualities. Therefore, the true heroes are those servicemen who volunteered for the failed rescue mission.

Irene Coyne West Chester, Pa.

I am as pleased as anyone that the hostages are free. But had we listened to the Iranian people's cries for freedom and justice instead of to the Shah, the mess would never have happened.

Our only consolation is that the present Iranian government's foreign policy is more stupid than our own.

Michael J. Greene Wichita, Kans.

Honorable Agreement?

Our Government thought about whether to honor the agreement with Iran that led to the release of the hostages. What's to consider? Is any deal made with terrorist kidnapers honorable? Iran should get nothing. No money. No concessions. Nothing.

John Chase Carrboro, N.C.

America must keep every promise it made in obtaining the release of the hostages. Duress or not, these obligations represent our country's honor. Shall we sink to Iranian depths and break this word?

Valerie M. Caldwell Buffalo

Let us honor our commitments and pay what we owe. Let us take 444 days to doit.

George Davidson Willingboro, N.J.

Quiet Man

It would show great wisdom on President Reagan's part if he kept the welcome mat out for Warren Christopher. The U.S. needs "quiet" types who can patiently handle the stress and frustration so often found in diplomacy.

Eddie L. Meaders Abilene, Texas

The Ninth Casket

All reports that I've seen since the aborted rescue mission in April have said that eight servicemen died in the attempt. However, in your photograph of the arrival of the bodies at the Zurich airport [Jan. 26], nine caskets are lying on the tarmac. Did you use the wrong photo? Was there actually a ninth casualty?

Tom Simons Lincoln, Neb.

The Iranians returned nine coffins to the U.S. However, the Defense Department said that the nine coffins held only eight bodies.

Campus Ghostwriters

Companies selling ghostwritten term papers [Jan. 26] thrive at colleges and universities where professors do not take enough interest in their students' research to check the sources. Teachers can require students to bring to a scheduled conference every book and article used in a term paper. If students know they must sit at the professor's elbow for a 15-minute random check of the accuracy and honesty of references, the paper mills will not have a ghost of a chance.

John A. Canuteson Liberty, Mo.

"We the People..." (Contd.)

Arthur Schlesinger Jr. is nitpicking in his letter [Jan. 26] refuting the statement by President Reagan that "the Federal Government was created by the states." He conveniently omits that part of the Constitution that says, "The ratification ... of nine States, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States," and further, "Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present."

Richard C. Slama Orangeville, Pa.

Quitting QWERTY

I was encouraged to see in your story about designing a new keyboard [Jan. 26] that at last there may be a typewriter that makes sense. I have always had a sneaking suspicion that the inventor of the QWERTY system had a good laugh at the prank he perpetrated on the world.

Andrew W. Hutmacher Fruita, Colo.

Among the flaws of the QWERTY keyboard is overuse of the left hand, which is for most people less dexterous. This problem may be noted in the sentences below, typed entirely by the left hand, except for punctuation.

At base we saw batters stare daggers at a referee.

Castrated cats evade brave rats.

Paul Marshall Chicago

August Dvorak may have died in 1975, but his amazing keyboard is far from dead. It is more popular now than ever In my travels throughout the U.S. and Europe and in reports from Australia and Japan, the signs of a Dvorak movement are pointing to a realization that tired old QWERTY has competition.

Virginia de Ganahl Russell

President, Dvorak East

Brandon, Vt.

Tracking J.F.K.'s Body

Your discussion of David Lifton's "Two Casket" theory [Jan. 19] recalled some very vivid memories. In 1963 I was a pharmacologist at the Naval Medical Research Institute, a component of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. One of my collateral duties was to stand watch for the center. On Nov. 22, 1963, because of the unusual circumstances, I was recruited to serve with the duty officer.

In Lifton's book, the description of events relayed by a member of the Army honor guard does not coincide with my recollection. As I remember, we did not lose track of the ambulance containing the bronze casket after it arrived at the medical center. On that night there were a large number of spectators around, and our intention was to get the ambulance to the morgue before the crowd gathered. The honor guard, along with a Navy enlisted-man driver, the other duty officer and me, rode to the morgue on the guard truck at a high speed, believing that the ambulance was following. When we got there, the ambulance was not to be seen.

Since the Secret Service driver was unfamiliar with the grounds, we decided he was lost. Retracing our path, we found the ambulance still at the front of the hospital amid many onlookers. In our haste we had left without confirming that the ambulance was behind us. On the second try we did it right.

At no time was the ambulance out of sight of at least several hundred people, from its arrival at the center until the bronze coffin was unloaded at the morgue.

Sorell L. Schwartz

Potomac, Md.

Your story of a bizarre new Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory is, as you say, "all but impossible to accept as reality."

From the moment we wheeled the casket out of Parkland Hospital in Dallas and pushed it into the ambulance, I, who was Air Force aide to the President, never left the coffin except for a few minutes. I did so only to talk to the pilot of Air Force One, and this was at Mrs. Kennedy's request. She wanted to expedite our departure. During this time Mrs. Kennedy, along with Larry O'Brien and Dave Powers, remained at the side of the casket. To suggest that anyone could have taken the body of the President out of the coffin with Mrs. Kennedy and two of his closest and most loyal friends a few feet away is illogical. Aboard Air Force One it would have been impossible!

Further, the statement that the ambulance sent to Andrews Air Force Base by the Bethesda Naval Hospital was left unattended at the front entrance of the hospital is false. I remained with the ambulance at all times. After a short while, I entered the ambulance. It was then driven to the emergency entrance, and the casket was immediately wheeled into the operating room.

The President was placed on an operating stand, and several doctors worked on him from about 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. The body remained on the table at all times. I never left the room even for an instant. The part of your story stating that everyone was ordered out of the room is incorrect. No one ever told me to leave, or had the authority to do so. After the mortician finished his work, we placed the President's body in the new casket that had been sent to us.

Upon completion of the procedures, I called Dave Powers, who advised Robert Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy that we were prepared to leave. The ambulance, carrying the casket, Mrs. Kennedy, the Attorney General and me, returned to the White House, where the coffin was placed in the East Room.

Godfrey T. McHugh

Brigadier General, U.S.A.F. (ret.)

Washington, D.C.

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