Late wartime journalist Marie Colvin honored close to home

Acclaimed foreign affairs correspondent and former Long Islander Marie Colvin, who was killed by the Syrian Assad regime while exposing humanitarian war crimes in 2012, was honored in a street renaming ceremony in Oyster Bay Saturday, as her fearless pursuit of truth continues to inspire younger generations.

Dubbed the “greatest war correspondent of her generation,” she will be permanently memorialized on West Main Street with a new sign, “Marie Colvin Way.”

Colvin’s sister, Cat Colvin, unveiled the marker between Spring and South streets in front of several elected officials and dozens of relatives and friends who were there to celebrate the journalist’s storied career, which spanned three decades.

Several leaders repeatedly stressed that Marie Colvin was a “hero” for revealing the atrocities of war and for saving thousands of people in harm's way by calling attention to their plight while reporting from the front lines.  

The event highlighted her lasting impact. Sabrina Guo, 17, a Syosset High School senior and the founder of Girl Pride International, proposed the renaming initiative in February, 10 years after Colvin’s death. Nassau Legis. Joshua Lafazan (D-Woodbury) later sponsored the bill, which passed in the county legislature in September.

“If Marie could choose her legacy, she would want to be an inspiration to young women, so it seems particularly fitting that this event would be organized by a high school girl,” Cat Colvin said.

Lafazan, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) thanked Guo for laying out the idea.

Colvin grew up in East Norwich and graduated from Oyster Bay High School in 1974.

On Feb. 22, 2012, while working for The Sunday Times of London, Colvin, 56, was killed in a targeted rocket attack in the embattled city of Homs. She was uncovering the government’s attack on civilians and, according to Cat Colvin, was reporting on the death of an infant before she was killed.

In 2019, her family won a $302 million civil lawsuit against the Syrian government for assassinating Colvin in a media center where she had been staying. She died alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik. 

“Colvin was a blazing light persevering in the name of truth and humanity,” Guo told the crowd.

“I hope that Marie’s story will be shared by my generation and many more future generations, and of course, that this street will continue to honor the Colvin family’s passion for shedding light on the truth,” said Guo, who also commemorated Colvin’s life with art exhibits at the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library and the Syosset Public Library in March.

The war reporter had several close calls. She wore a signature black eye patch after losing her left eye during an ambush in Sri Lanka in 2001.

“Throughout Marie’s work, she’s credited with saving the lives of tens of thousands of people, especially of women and children in those most dangerous conflict zones,” Lafazan added.

She was credited with saving the lives of 1,500 women and children in East Timor in 1999, according to the Marie Colvin Memorial Foundation. They had been trapped in a United Nations compound by Indonesian-backed forces, and "she refused to leave them when UN staff and journalists were evacuated," according to the foundation.

She "continued to send news out of the compound, highlighting the plight of the refugees to the world." The UN, embarrassed, reversed its decision and evacuated them to safety, according to the foundation. 

Cat Colvin said not a day goes by when she doesn’t think about her sister, who she said was her “personal hero,” and seeing how she inspired Guo was especially poignant.

“It’s an amazing testament and it gives me faith that her legacy will be carried on,” she added.