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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 25-2-33