Veterans warm to Reagan on Central America policy

President Reagan defended his Central American policies before an enthusiastic audience at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. He said the public is getting a distorted view of events in Central America.

The President answered criticism from Democratic presidential hopeful John Glenn, who said that the US needs ''to develop a rational defense policy based on a coherent foreign policy.'' Mr. Reagan insisted that he does have an overall military-planning and weapons-buying strategy.

After his speech Reagan signed legislation that established a temporary program to provide up to $300 million to encourage employers to hire and train veterans.