Larry Nance Jr. had no idea how much of an impact his third-grade project would
have on someone in a foreign, war-torn country.
Just a 10-year-old at Revere Elementary School in Akron, Ohio, Nance wrote to a
soldier overseas about whatever came to mind — from his annoying brother and
sister to his fandom for Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.
Those two letters from “a scatterbrained 10-year-old,” as Nance put it, provided
temporary solace for U.S. Army Specialist Bianca Campbell, who had been
stationed in Saudi Arabia for about a month when she became pen pals with the
future Laker.
“I connected with him explaining about his brothers and sisters being annoying,”
Campbell said. “I think I attached to that because that was something I could
relate to. That part of it was what meant the most to me, too — that childlike
energy.”
Campbell joined the Army in order to open more opportunities for a better life.
However, the Buffalo native ended up enlisting just two days after 9/11,
changing her entire perspective on her military future.
“You had to be prepared to know that it wasn’t going to be boots up,” Campbell
said. “You were going to be on the ground. You were going to be active and
potentially see combat. It’s reality at that point.”
Weeks into her tour in Saudi Arabia, tragedy struck, as Campbell’s close friend
from training, Private First Class Spence McNeil, had to be taken off life
support.
It was Campbell’s 20th birthday.
Campbell, who teared up remembering McNeil, remained busy with her duties as an
automated logistics specialist. It was a fast-paced environment that required
getting equipment to frontline soldiers and ensuring that the military trucks
were running appropriately.
During this first month, Campbell admitted to hitting “a low place.” Then she
received her first letter from a basketball fan in Mrs. Staats’ third-grade
class.
“You can feel the energy and the excitement about certain things he was talking
about,” Campbell said. “It definitely just makes you get away. Your mind is away
from it.
“At the time I wasn’t getting letters from family, so that was my only letter.
So that meant even more.”
@Larrydn22 many moons ago u were my pen pal during my tour overseas. It always
meant alot, still have the letters. Glad your dreams came tru
pic.twitter.com/i9hybhLJFw
The letters meant so much that she still held onto them 14 years later. She had
wanted to reach out to Nance in 2014, but didn’t know how to contact him while
he was still in college.
It wasn’t until the year after that she found out he played basketball, when her
son’s father realized that the name “Larry Nance Jr.” was the same as a player’s
on the Lakers.
Campbell finally reached out to Nance on July 21, 2017, by tweeting photos of
the letters he had sent in 2003.
That day, Nance awoke from a nap to his phone buzzing. He was shocked to see
Campbell’s tweet and immediately showed it to his fiancee, who comes from a
military family.
“She was like, ‘Larry, this is incredible,'” Nance said.
Nance quickly invited Campbell to be his guest at a Lakers game this season, and
Delta Air Lines helped him keep that promise.
As part of its “Salute to Our Troops” partnership with the Lakers, Delta flew
Campbell and her family out to Los Angeles to meet Nance for the first time.
On Wednesday, she was able to tour the Lakers’ practice facility, watch the
team’s shootaround, meet players and even take a few jumpers on the practice
court.
14 years after first writing, @larrydn7 and his soldier pen pal, Bianca
Campbell, finally got a chance to meet each other in person, courtesy of @Delta
#DreamUpLA
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Nov 15, 2017 at 1:06pm PST
Her 10-year-old son, Acario, (who is the same age that Nance was at the time of
the letters) was especially excited to take a photo with second-overall pick
Lonzo Ball.
And Ball was happy to meet Campbell, as she joined the team after practice.
“We just met her in the huddle right now,” Ball said. “I’m grateful for
everything she does for us, for this country. Very happy to have her here.”
Hosting Campbell and family was an easy decision for head coach Luke Walton.
“I told our in-house people, ‘Anything military I’m good with,'” he said. “They
don’t even need to come ask me.”
It was a lifetime experience for Campbell, who grew up a Lakers fan by watching
Kobe and Shaq in high school.
And for Nance, it was an opportunity to thank a servicewoman and — when the two
read their letters to each other — laugh at his own childhood self.
“It’s like a little bit embarrassing,” Nance said. “A 10-year-old doesn’t
understand the magnitude of what’s going on. In one of the letters, I (wrote),
‘Is the war almost over? Where is Saddam (Hussein)?'”
Looking back, Nance realized the absurdity of his question.
“I thought I was gonna crack the case wide open,” Nance joked. “If we can figure
out where he’s at, we can end this thing.”
Campbell’s day is far from over, as she will be honored at half court during the
Lakers’ game against the 76ers later that night.
It is a worthy recognition for someone who served her four-year contract with
the Army and then served in the reserves until 2009.
Now, her goal is to help other veterans. Currently studying under the military’s
work-study program, she plans to work for the African American PTSD Association,
which helps vets obtain benefits and provides aid with claims, among other
services.
And when she stands before the STAPLES Center crowd, she’ll have someone special
beside her: an old pen pal doubling as a new friend.
Player: Larry Nance Jr.
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