Veteran-Related Significant Days and Observances

Founders Day of Italian-American War Veterans of the United States, Inc

The fifteenth day of February in each year shall be set apart as a day to be known as "Founders Day of the Italian-American War Veterans of the United States, Incorporated." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places and commemorating the founding of the organization and its members.

Rhode Island Seabees Day

The fifth (5th) day of March annually shall be set apart as a day to be known as "Rhode Island Seabees Day." The day shall be observed by the people of this state with appropriate ceremonies and activities that celebrate the many contributions of the Navy Seabees

Peter Francisco Day

The fifteenth day of March shall annually be set aside to be known as "Peter Francisco Day" and the governor shall issue an annual proclamation inviting and urging people of the state to observe this day in suitable places with appropriate ceremonies. Peter Francisco Day shall be in remembrance of the feats of valor and courage during our nation's war for independence of Peter Francisco, who was found without family or home at the age of five in Virginia, apparently separated from his Portuguese immigrant parents. This observance will call to the attention of the people of our state the heroism in our nation's many wars of American soldiers of Portuguese ancestry.

Vietnam Veterans' Day

Vietnam Veterans' Day. The 29th day of March shall annually be set aside as a day to be known as "VietNam Veterans' Day." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

RI Patriot Guard Riders Day

The twelfth (12th) day of April shall annually be set apart as a day dedicated to the RI Patriot Guard Riders. The RI PGR is an organization that attends the funerals of members of the armed forces, firefighters, first responders, and police. In addition to attending funerals, the group also greets troops returning from overseas at homecoming celebrations and performs volunteer work for veteran's organizations. This day may be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places that celebrate the many contributions RI Patriot Guard Riders have and continue to make in our state.

(a) The fifteenth day of May in each and every year is established as a day for celebration of "National Police Memorial Day" to commemorate state and local police officers who have died in the line of duty. (b) The calendar week containing May fifteenth in each year is designated as "National Police Week," and is set apart as a period during which the state and its cities and towns may conduct appropriate exercises in honor of those men and women who have given their lives in the war against crime while protecting the lives and property of our citizens.

Combat Veterans' Day

The third Saturday of April shall annually be set apart as a day to be known as "Combat Veterans' Day." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

VFW Loyalty Day

The governor shall issue an annual proclamation calling for proper observance of the first day of May in each and every year as "V.F.W. Loyalty Day."

Rhode Island Independence Day

The fourth day of May in each and every year is established, in this state, as a day for celebration of Rhode Island independence, being a just tribute to the memory of the members of our general assembly, who, on the fourth day of May, 1776, in the State House at Providence, passed an act renouncing allegiance of the colony to the British crown and by the provisions of that act declared Rhode Island sovereign and independent, the first official act of its kind by any of the thirteen (13) American colonies.

Rhode Island Blue Star Parents Day

The first Sunday after Mother's Day annually shall be set apart as a day to be known as "Rhode Island Blue Star Parents Day." This day may be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercise in public places that celebrate the many contributions Blue Star Parents have and continue to make in our state

Military Nurses' Day

The first Monday of June shall annually be set apart as a day dedicated to Rhode Island military nurses who served their country in all wars, campaigns, and engagements throughout the world. This day may be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places

Italian-American Veterans Daisy Day

The first Saturday of June in each and every year shall be set apart as the "Italian- American War Veterans of the United States, Incorporated Field Daisy Day." The day is to be known as "ITAM-Vets Daisy Day," and is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises.

Gaspee Days

The second Saturday and the following Sunday of June in each and every year shall be set aside as days to be known as "Gaspee Days" to commemorate the 1772 burning of the British schooner HMS Gaspee. The days are to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

Destroyer Escort Day

The third Saturday of June in each year shall be set aside as a day to be known as "Destroyer Escort Day" to highlight in the state the role of the destroyer Escort in the naval service. The day may be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

Korean War Veterans Memorial Day

Korean War Veterans Memorial Day. The twenty-seventh day of July shall annually be set apart as a day to be known as "Korean War Veterans Memorial Day." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

Disabled American Veterans Day

Disabled American Veterans Day. The thirty-first day of July shall annually be set apart as a day to be known as "Disabled American Veterans Day" or "D.A.V. Day." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places and otherwise commemorating the disabled American veterans.

POW-MIA's Day

The third Friday of September shall annually be set aside as a day to be known as "POW-MIA's Day." The day may be observed by the people of the state with appropriate exercises and the governor may issue an annual proclamation calling upon the citizens of the state to observe the occasion and to take the opportunity to honor persons from this state and the nation who are prisoners-of-war or missing in action.

General Casimir Pulaski Day

The eleventh day of October shall be set apart as a day to be known as "General Casimir Pulaski Day." The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places.

Beirut Bombings Remembrance

On October 23 we commemorate the 1983 terrorist attacks which took the lives of 241 US Military Personnel, 9 of which were Rhode Island Marines.

Gold Star Parents Day

The third Sunday in October in each and every year shall be set aside as a day to be known as "Rhode Island Gold Star Parents Day." This nation and state owe an enormous debt to those grieving parents who have lost children in war. The day is to be observed by the people of this state with appropriate exercises in public places, and shall cause a display of the state and American flags to be flown at half-staff over the Rhode Island State House to commemorate this day of remembrance to honor their memory.

Veteran Firefighters' Muster Day

The governor shall issue an annual proclamation calling for proper observance of "Veteran Firefighters' Muster Day."