WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Postal Service made its special "United We Stand" stamp available Oct. 24 in areas where postal officials thought it would have the most meaning.

The Postal Service produced the stamp in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to postal spokesman Don Smeraldi. The terrorists slammed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside.

"We made the stamp available in the Washington metropolitan area and in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut," Smeraldi said. "We issued it in New Jersey and Connecticut because they're so close to the World Trade Center and a lot of people from those areas were there on Sept. 11. The Washington metropolitan area includes Northern Virginia, where the Pentagon is located, down to Richmond.

"We had enough stamps printed to supply those post offices," Smeraldi noted. "We'll have enough printed by Nov. 5 to stock all post offices nationwide, including the military APO and FPOs."

The 34-cent self-adhesive stamp features "Old Glory" with the words "United We Stand" below it. Customers can order the stamp online at www.usps.com and via the Postal Service's toll-free telephone number at 1-800-STAMP-24 or purchase them at local post offices including West Point.