After the army, we stayed good friends and we were meeting frequently for drinks, parties and reminiscing about life in the army. I was going through a lot of changes in my life, the death of my father, and making preparations to leave Czechoslovakia. I applied for a group bus tour for one night in Austria and the rest of the time in Yugoslavia and Hungary. Cedok, the government run tourist agency, let me know that the secret service rejected my application. Next day after the rejection, I met with Honza in a restaurant, Na Stare Fare, near where he lived in Prague. After we were served beer, Honza started to visibly shake and he was telling me that the secret police came to him and interrogated him about me. He said that they wanted to know about my feelings on the communist regime, if I became bitter after my father death, they suspect I plan to escape, and stay in Austria during my trip. Honza told me that he did not say anything negative about me, but he is very sure that the secret police knows everything about me and about my intentions.

Since I was already told by the travel agency that the secret service denied my application, I was ready with a story I knew was believable. After the army, I was attending night school in Charles University in the Electrical Engineering department. I told Honza, that it would be very difficult to make a living in the west, in a capitalist country, without a college degree. Since college education was free in Czechoslovakia and I was not fluent in foreign languages, I decided to finish the degree in Czechoslovakia and only after that I would want to leave Czechoslovakia. I told him that this time, I want to be allowed to go on this trip, since my coming back would establish the secret police trusting me for the next time I would apply for a trip tour, going through Austria. I used this argument with everyone, who was suspecting that my trip was a way for me to escape, including with my mother and my sister. Two days later, Honza told me that the secret police came again to talk to Kotva about me and that he assured them that I was not planning to escape.

I also went to the secret police headquarters with a prepared modified story objecting to the denial for me to go on the trip. There was another “friend”, who I was warned about being a secret policeman, who also told me that he was interrogated by the secret police about my possible intentions going on the trip, whom I also told my prepared story.

This all happened within the same one week. At the end, I was told by the tourist agency that by some miracle, the secret service approved my trip.

Fast forward to 1989, after the collapse of communism. Until that time I did not contact anyone in Czechoslovakia, since correspondence with someone from a Western country could create problems for them. I found the phone number for Honza Kotva and called him to let him know that I would like to come to Prague for a visit. Honza told me that he had triple-bypass heart surgery and he recovered and he would love to come to USA for a visit in the summer of 1990. I postponed my visit to Czechoslovakia and mailed him an invitation, so he can get a tourist Visa to USA.

Honza took a flight to New York, I picked him up and brought him to my house in Hudson, near Boston. He spent with us about a week and he wanted to visit some friends in Toronto and do some traveling. We bought him a 30 days ticket on Greyhound, valid for any travel within Canada and USA. Honza spent almost a month traveling in Canada from Toronto to Vancouver and back through California across the USA to Boston. He spent approximately another 2 weeks with us. We took him sightseeing around New England area, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, Vermont, etc. On the way to the New York Airport, we visited some sights in New York, like the Trade Towers, Empire State building and Staten Island. Unfortunately, we could not see the Statue of Liberty, since US government was under a shutdown due to the budget and national parks were closed on that one particular day.

Top of World Trade Center 1990 with Jan Kotva

We had a great time with Honza. One evening, we were drinking and we were reminiscing about the time in the army. I reminded Honza about him reporting Risa and me to the political officer. Honza was shocked, claimed that he does not remember it, and that he thought he was always against the communist system and communist party. He said that he believes me only, because he knows I would not lie to him and that he was surprised that knowing that, I was still friendly with him. I told him that I did not take it personally, that he was genuinely distressed that he could not explain to us the communist “truth” and he did not mean anything bad happening to us.

The next year, I had to go to meetings at NEC in Munich for work with my boss, Ken Takahashi. He brought his wife; I brought my wife. After the work week, we took a trip through Vienna to Prague. We had luggage full of presents for Honza that he requested: chain saw, electronic planner (precursor of notebook), and other items. Fortunately no one at customs was objecting to the chain saw. In Prague, Wendy and I stayed at Kotva’s apartment, very close to the Old Town square; Kotva arranged a hotel room at Paris hotel for Ken and his wife, not far from his place. Ken and his wife spent 3 days in Prague, I stayed longer. Honza and his wife, Mila, were perfect hosts, cooked traditional Czech meals, arranged dinners and entertainment in nice restaurants — one time in a cellar with Gypsy (pc: Roma) orchestra. He went sightseeing in Prague with us, he tried for us to see Vaclav Havel, since he knew him from his acting career. He played with Vaclav Havel in a movie called Kazdy Mlady Muz (Every Young Man). Unfortunately, Vaclav Havel was not in his residence in the Prague Castle at that time.

The 1991 visit in Prague was great and I missed the city where I grew up. Next year, in 1992, I went again to Prague for 2 weeks, this time by myself. I stayed again with Jan Kotva family. I also visited some of my cousins, notably my cousin, Peter Kralik, in Slovakia and my cousin, Tona (Antonin Valach), in Prague, the last time I would ever see them. We had a great time and again Honza and his family were great hosts.

I told Honza that for retirement, I would like to live somewhere in or near Prague. Honza showed me his land he had very near Prague and told me that we could build on that land 2 houses, one for him and one for me. He knew many people and was sure he can have it built for minimal cost. I told him that I would be interested.

When I was leaving, I tried to buy some wrought iron items from iron workers who were exhibiting on the Old Time square, but I missed them. I left some money with Honza to buy it for me when the iron workers come back.

Honza called me in early January, 1993, that he would like to start to build the 2 houses and asked me to send him $250,000, to be able to start the building project. I told him I do not have such cash savings, even though I made good money, and that I have to talk to bank to get a loan. Honza called again a week later, asking if I did get the money. I told him no, that it will take time. He said that he needs it now and if I don’t have the money, he has some other friend who is interested in building house with him under the same arrangement. I told Honza that, in such case, he should go ahead with his friend, since I cannot get money fast enough.

To my surprise, in early February 1993, I got a call at my work from Mila, Honza’s wife. She said that Honza died, one week after a heart transplant. I was shocked that Honza would not tell me that he is planning to have a heart transplant, because I would try to arrange for his heart transplant in the USA. The Czech doctors did not have that much experience with heart transplants at that time. I asked Mila if Honza had a chance to buy me the wrought iron items. She said no; she does not know anything about Honza’s finances since he kept everything in his electronic planner, the battery died, and everything was lost.

After I got over the shock, I thought about it and realized that Honza knew the risk associated with the heart transplant and he wanted to leave as much money for his family as he can if he would die. And since he wanted money from me, he did not want me to know about it. Needless to say, I was glad that I did not send him the money he asked for.