 Welcome to All Hands Update. This is your week in Navy history. December 21st, 1861, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. On the same day in 1968, Apollo 8 launched with Navy Captain James J. Lovell Jr. as the command module pilot. During the mission, Lovell was one of the first people to see the far side of the moon. The mission lasted six days and three hours and included 10 moon orbits. Recovery was executed by HS-4 helicopters from USS Yorktown, CVS-10. On December 24th, 1814, the Treaty of Gint ended the War of 1812. Hostilities between Great Britain and the United States ceased and Britain agreed to relinquish its claim to the Northwest Territory. The United States and Great Britain also pledged to work together to end the slave trade. To learn more about the Navy's history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Commands website.