Venezuelan War of Independence more years of war, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. Venezuela, along with the countries of Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, formed part of the Republic of Gran Colombia until 1830, when Venezuela separated and became a sovereign country. The French invasion of Spain in 1808 led to the collapse of the Spanish Monarchy. Most subjects of Spain did not accept the government of Joseph Bonaparte, placed on the Spanish throne by his brother, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France. At the same time, the process of creating a stable
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