Families, Local Officials Gather To Remember Young Men Killed In Brothers To The Rescue Shoot Down 25 Years Ago

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Families and local officials gathered Wednesday to remember the four young men killed in Brothers to the Rescue shoot down 25 years ago.

At Opa-Locka Executive Airport, family members were emotional as they remembered Mario de la Pena, Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales and Armando Alejandre Jr.

The four men were shot out of the sky by Cuban MiG fighters while on a humanitarian mission.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez paid his respects to their families and shared his thoughts on the tragedy.

"I can't even imagine the pain that they had to go through and endure over these years. The loss of a family member in a way like this is incomprehensible," he said. "There's no way to imagine it, there's no way to empathize and there's no way to understand it."

Four palm trees stand at the entrance to the airport as a reminder of the young men who lost their lives that day.