Her daughter Julia, son Michal and his wife, Brig. Gen. Chris “Boots” Coffelt, commander of the Air War College, Col. Michael Peterson, head of the International Officers School, as well as current Czech students Col. Petr Čepelka and Maj. Josef Kořínek were present at the ceremony.

Eva Honolka Newman was born on May 14, 1937, in the town of Trutnov, then Czechoslovakia.

In February 1948, the communists seized power, and in 1949, the family decided to leave for exile. After a long and painful journey, they found a new home in the United States.

Eva recalls: “We arrived hungry, torn and scared, but there was a promise of opportunity to follow happiness with hope, to have the dignity of work, to praise our God, to have the freedom to love our fellow human beings, to be of service and to appreciate life as it was given to us by a power beyond ourselves.”

The family settled down in Cedar Rapid, Iowa. Later, Eva married František Newman, who served as a U.S. Army pilot at Garris Air Force Base in Texas.  He spoke 6 languages fluently.  During his service, he was sent for an 18-month tour to Korea and then Vietnam. Five days before his scheduled return from his second tour of duty in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Frank Charles Newman died in combat on February 24, 1970.  

Widowed with three small children, Eva decided to apply for a job with the U.S. Government. She took part in a selection process in Montgomery, AL, and was chosen from among 2,000 applicants to work in the U.S. Capitol.

Although she did not have a relevant educational background, she loved history and started to give public lectures. Later, she lectured on American history. Auburn University in Alabama honored her for her achievements.  

In 1988, she started sponsoring foreign students, particularly those studying at the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama. She  also sponsored Czech military students from 1992 until 2005,  and continues to maintain unofficial ties with the alumni.

In 1995, she received a medal for promotion of the United States of America as the eighth non-American. The medal has been awarded since 1895.