 Solution

Construct the sum successively, retaining a simple module only when it adds a new direct summand. Suppose $S=V_1+\cdots +V_{j-1}$ is already expressed as a direct sum of modules selected from these simple modules. The intersection $S\cap V_j$ is a submodule of the simple module $V_j$, so it is either zero or all of $V_j$. In the latter case $S+V_j=S$. In the former caseStarting with $S=0$ and proceeding by mathematical induction gives a direct sum of modules equal to $V_1+\cdots +V_n$. Thus the sum is a semisimple module. The argument proves the useful finite sum of simple submodules lemma without claiming that the originally listed submodules are themselves independent.