Bolivar Peninsula, Texas Bolivar Peninsula, Texas Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,417 at the 2010 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located on Bolivar Peninsula. The peninsula was named by 1816 for Simón Bolívar, the famed South American political leader involved in the independence movements of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and other Latin American nations. The pirates/privateers Jean Laffite and Louis-Michel Aury each used the Bolivar Peninsula as part of the pirate "kingdom" established around the Galveston Bay. The peninsula was part of
USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641) R. Charette served as an Independent Duty Corpsman onboard "Simon Bolivar". He was a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. Known as "Doc" to his shipmates, he was held in the highest regard during his tour of duty aboard "Simon Bolivar". "Simon Bolivar" like all U.S. ballistic missile submarines, had two crews, the Blue and Gold, in order to maximize the at-sea time of the ship itself. During the approximately 2 1/2 months of a patrol, crew members worked every day standing watches then performing their in-rate duties. Those that were not qualified