It's been 25 years since the terror attacks at the Twin Towers in New York and the Valley International Airport held their own 9/11 memorial ceremony.

City leaders and community members gathered to honor the lives lost and pay tribute to the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A Harlingen city commissioner noted that the tragedy reshaped how Rio Grande Valley residents view border security and local safety.

"A whole understanding of what it meant to be in the front tier here in South Texas and how important securing our border is to making sure we don't have the human trafficking, the drug trafficking, the gun trafficking, the weapon trafficking," Harlingen City Commissioner District 2 Daniel Nemesio Lopez said.

Lopez asked the community to spread kindness and never forget the lives lost.