Bombs Away on Stereotypes
In reference to the cartoon ``You've Come a Long Way, Baby,'' May 3: I was a woman bomber pilot in World War II (B-24s and B-26s). We were shot up quite a bit by student gunners or antiaircraft gunnery practice B-26 pilots. And the WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots) who were bomber pilots on B-17s for student navigators carried live bombs. We flew every fighter and every bomber (including the first jet) in the United States Air Force.
The cartoon gives the impression that women flying bombers and carrying bombs is something new, and the grin implies that women bomber or fighter pilots love bombing. Women military pilots have been flying bombers for 50 years. We wonder why newspapers seem to think this is something new. Hazel Hohn, Reno, Nev. Buildings show signs of the times
The Opinion page article ``Korea's Blue House: A Sign of New Times,'' Sept. 10, was excellent, but the author's references to Seoul's ``neo-Greek'' National Museum and to the Blue House presidential compound failed to note a major change in each.
In August, the Kim Young Sam administration resolved a bitter controversy when it announced plans to dismantle the National Museum building and the blue-tile roofed building used as the presidential residence from Syngman Rhee in 1948 through Roh Tae Woo in 1990. The controversy stemmed from the museum's history as the administrative center of the Japanese colonial government and the Blue House's former role as the residence of the Japanese governors- general.
Both buildings and their prominent use by the government long have been an affront to Korean nationalism. Hence, the author also should have noted that South Korea's recent reforms are asserting Korean identity by injecting a healthy dose of symbolic distance from the Japanese colonial era. Edward A. Olsen, Monterey, Calif. Professor of Asian Studies Naval Postgraduate School Dangerous democracy in the UN
The Opinion page article ``Time to Widen United Nations Security Council Membership,'' Sept. 9, advocates a policy that would tie up the UN in endless debate with no action. Granting a permanent seat on the Security Council would undoubtedly mean also granting a veto.
The recent history of Bosnia-Herzegovina illustrates what can happen when countries with the veto use it for things other than furthering the peace of the world. It might be a better idea for the UN to deprive such countries of their seats and vetoes, and give the vacancies to other nations. Mary Evelyn Prior, Marion, Ohio The Reagan legacy
The Opinion page article ``Reagan's Strategic Deception Initiative,'' Sept. 3, misses the whole point of the Strategic Defense Initiative program. SDI forced the Soviet Union to compete and continue spending on its military program. It broke the back of the Soviet Union economically and dealt the final blow to communism. Former President Ronald Reagan knew this would be the case. As such, it was one of Mr. Reagan's most brilliant strokes. William F. Marquandt III, New York
