The Valiant Seven

I have been taking a summer unit on Oregon history. I thought I would read a book on this time period, so I looked on my dusty book shelf and that’s were I laid my eye on The Valiant Seven. The Valiant Seven, written by Netta Sheldon Phelps in 1941, tells the remarkable story of the Sager family traveling by covered wagons on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. From what the title describes, there are 7 children in the family, 2 boys and 5 girls.

In their dreadful, long journey the children’s parents die which leaves them orphans and in the care of a Dutch doctor that is part of their caravan. But not losing hope each child stands firm and presses on to their destination. With attacks by buffalo, sightings of Indians, breathtaking moments, this book will not get boring in the least bit. Netta Sheldon Phelps does a fantastic job describing what it was like during that time on the Oregon Trail. I’m from Oregon, so I would probably appreciate the book more than others who live out of state.

I learned that nothing can break a family apart, even when it means losing a family member. These children never lost hope or ever gave up, except for a moment of wishing they would have stayed in Missouri fighting malaria instead of losing their parents on the Oregon Trail.

I would recommend this book for educational and casual reading. The Valiant Seven is definitely a classic. I now know a lot about the Oregon Trail and how much sacrifice it was to take it. When I read this book it made me appreciate my family members more. The chapters are considerably short and easy to read. The book is based on a true story but Phelps adds a little more story line to make it interesting. The Valiant Seven is a must read.

Buy The Valiant Seven

Hearing Grandpa's Story

Today, June 4, 2007, my Grandpa (Frank Ramsey) drove down from Seattle to visit us for a couple days. As soon as he walked in the house we sat down and talked about many things. Last memorial day that got me thinking, "what really did my Grandfather do for service in World War II?". So I asked him.

When my Grandfather was 17-18 or so, he and his friend agreed together that they would join the marines and serve with each other. But it turned out to be that they were too young and had to wait. Soon the draft arrived when my Grandpa was 18. He was transfered to Chicago, Illinois where he was tested and rewarded points on how well you did push ups, boxing etc.. My Grandpa was rewarded the most points out of his group so he was given the privilege to choose which position he would like to do in the Navy. He chose to learn welding so he can repair guns, ships, and pretty much anything made of metal.

He was transfered to Papa New Guinea where he was on his way to the Philippines. On his way to the Philippines, the ship he was on and other ships around was bombed by Japanese planes. He said there was 2-3 bombs dropped an hour. But after a little while my Grandfather went up on deck and spotted a Japanese plane heading right towards him, so he called to the guns men to fire upon him. The gun men shot at the plane but missed. The plane came stooping down and dropped bombs on there boat, but missed.

When there group landed at the Philippines he saw one boat that looked like swiss cheese. He thought that they were losing the war because of the damage that was done to there ships. But any how, he served in repairing damaged ships that came in from battle. Soon he got news that the war in Europe was over. Himself and his group were now getting ready to leave for China where from there they would soon invade Japan. But they got news that they had already dropped 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So it was time for him to come home.

I know this is not your average war story, but it gave me just a glimpse of what sacrifice people made during world war II and how big our God is. My Grandpa was a war hero. I will never forget that story told by my Grandfather, because the story asked the question: How Great is are God?