Washington, DC
September 13, 2002

At our Boston Summer Leadership Meeting, convened and chaired by Conference President and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino Conference staff were directed to gather information and produce a special edition of US MAYOR to show the volume of activity of mayors and cities as they in their own way commemorate the deaths of over 3,000 innocent Americans who died on that tragic day September 11, 2001.

The national media — especially televison focused mainly on the three sites that were hit, ground zero in New York, the Pentagon in DC and the open field memorial site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President George W. Bush started his day on the back lawn of the White House, then the Pentagon, then Shanksville and finally in New York where so many families and loved ones met for his consolation.

It was most appropriate for the networks to focus on the sites and our President as he led the nation in his resolve to remember but never forget the evil forces and individuals who have caused so much pain and suffering from the void left by so many dead as well as the economic pain and suffering for so many left with financial futures in doubt.

Mayor Menino and our leadership last summer predicted that 9/11 this year would focus on the three sites and the mayors wanted the nation and our international friends to have a picture of what USA cities, large and small, urban, suburban and rural did on this historic and significant day in our history.

We could not have produced this Special Edition without the tremendous response we received from cities across America as you posted your 9/11/02 activities on our website - usmayors.org.

We dedicate this edition to the mayors of the nation, their police, fire and emergency teams who are vigilant everyday and every night to make all cities safer from terrorism. We salute all of you and hope that this Special Edition will tell the story of what mayors and cities did as they paused for one day, one year later — on September 11, 2002 — to show that we care, that we love America, that we still hurt, that we still have anger — and we want justice for the one or ones who attacked our cities, our people and our nation.