Today is the 225th anniversary of the admission of the 16th state into the union of the United States of America. Happy birthday Tennessee, my home. Tennessee adopted "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" by Admiral William Porter Lawrence (a native of Nashville) as the official state poem in 1973. Lawrence composed "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" while enduring a 60 day period of solitary confinement in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. He spent a total of six years as a POW during the Vietnam War. This poem describes the love and longing he felt for his beautiful home state: Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee What Love and Pride I Feel for Thee. You Proud Ole State, the Volunteer, Your Proud Traditions I Hold Dear. I Revere Your Heroes Who Bravely Fought our Country's Foes. Renowned Statesmen, so Wise and Strong, Who Served our Country Well and Long. I Thrill at Thought of Mountains Grand; Rolling Green Hills and Fertile Farm Land; Earth Rich with Stone, Mineral and Ore; Forests Dense and Wild Flowers Galore; Powerful Rivers that Bring us Light; Deep Lakes with Fish and Fowl in Flight; Thriving Cities and Industries; Fine Schools and Universities; Strong Folks of Pioneer Descent, Simple, Honest, and Reverent. Beauty and Hospitality Are the Hallmarks of Tennessee. And O'er the World as I May Roam, No Place Exceeds my Boyhood Home. And Oh How Much I Long to See My Native Land, My Tennessee. ⭐⭐⭐ #Tennessee #StatehoodDay #VolunteerState #sixteenthstate #16thState #865Life #TriStar #225 (at Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPlVvZShQ7j/?utm_medium=tumblr