RFTW Southern Route
Southern Route Spotlight
Allow me to introduce Mike “Bonehead” Kyzer
Mike is our Missing Man Coordinator and all-around energizer bunny. It’s hard to imagine Mike ever sitting quietly! His enthusiasm and energy are infectious and his passion for our Veterans is visible every day. Mike will be posting information on Missing Man participation throughout the coming months. It is an activity that is very personal and very rewarding. I encourage our FNG’s to consider signing up to ride a Missing Man leg during our journey. It is an experience you will never forget. It’s easy to see, and hear Mike so I encourage you to introduce yourself.
A few words from Mike…
My name is Mike “Bonehead” Kyzer and I have been a Run For The Wall family member since my FNG year in 2015. I am 69 years old and have ridden motorcycles since I was 12, and specifically Harleys since I was 25.
My attraction to RFTW is based in my family’s military service. I served in the United States Marine Corp from 1975 to 1977. My brother and sister served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam conflict. My step-father served in the United States Army Air Corp in WWII, and my father served in the United States Air Force in Vietnam, retiring as a Senior Master Sergeant.
I have ridden all 4 RFTW Routes, All The Way. I rode my FNG year on Central Route in 2015. I then volunteered in leadership on the Southern Route as a Staging Crew member in 2017 and 2018, was the SR Financial Lead in 2019 and 2022, and volunteered as the Administrative Assistant to the Route Coordinator and the Service Platoon Assistant Platoon Leader in 2024. In 2025 I served as an Ambassador for the route, spreading the RFTW mission story and thanking those who support us all across the nation. And in 2026 I was honored to be appointed as the Southern Route Missing Man Coordinator, coordinating the riders who will participate in 33+ legs of the Missing Man formation that is at the front of every single pack of RFTW, and working with the Missing Man Chaplains to assure each participant has the emotional support they may need to make their hitch a successful tribute to the person they choose to honor. In 2027 I will continue that mission.
As far as other RFTW routes that I have served in leadership for, in 2023 I volunteered as the Administrative Assistant to the Midway Route Coordinator, and during the Run performed tail-gunner duties for 1st Platoon. On the Sandbox Route I served as the Administrative Assistant for the inaugural run in 2022, working diligently for the 3 years prior to get thru the challenges that accompanied the pandemic with the Route Coordinator Billy “Bugs” Dunlap and his teams. I continued that responsibility thru 2024. I also volunteered as a member of the Outreach Team in 2023, and in 2024 was the Platoon Leader for the Support Platoon.
My favorite part of the run is the overall concept of the mission statement of RFTW. I consider myself a dedicated patriotic American on a mission to spread awareness and provide support for Blue and Gold Star Families, working towards stopping the 22+ Military and Veterans a day who take their own lives, calling for answers and accountability for the victims of Military Sexual Trauma and Military Medical Mistakes, helping the WIA and ex-POWs when they return home, and keeping the memory alive of the KIA and MIA. This happens every day when you are around RFTW family.
Captain John Robert Peacock, USMC
MIA 10/12/72 – North Vietnam
Captain John Robert “Robbie”/”Rob” Peacock grew up in Kailua, Hawaii. The Peacock family was kama’aina — old Hawaii, rooted in the land, the sea and the air. His mother’s family, the Cookes, were among the founding families of Hawaii. He attended Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kamuela on the Big Island, the same school his extended family had attended for generations. His father, a WWII aviator turned commercial pilot, taught him to fly. Rob, too, felt called to the sky.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Robbie headed to Dartmouth College in the fall of 1964. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps and entered flight training. He qualified as a pilot in the esteemed A-6A Intruder, and was stationed at Cherry Point, NC before deploying to Southeast Asia in the late spring of 1972. He was stationed at MCAS Nam Phong, Thailand, jokingly referred to as “The Rose Garden” by the Marines who served there. He flew bombing missions into North Vietnam, most often at night and most often alone.
On October 12, 1972, Rob and his Bombardier Navigator, Lt William “Marshall” Price, took off from the Rose Garden on a solo mission over North Vietnam in A-6A Intruder, call sign Tiny 06. Upon reaching the target area approximately fifteen miles west of Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province, Captain Peacock reported to the FAC that there were no targets available due to bad weather. He was returning to base. The FAC then reported an explosion in the vicinity of their last known position. No rescue beepers were heard. No radio contact was established. Tiny 06 did not return to the Rose Garden. Both Peacock and Price were listed Missing in Action.
While their case is still in an Active Pursuit category, DPAA has not been able to establish where the Intruder went down. There are no witness reports. There is no identified crash site to excavate. Rather, it’s considered an “off the scope” loss. Without new information, the case will remain on the proverbial shelf. It is a proven fact that the Vietnamese government thoroughly documented every aircraft shot down and the fate of its crew. In today’s free-trade environment with their country, there is no sound reason that the US government has not demanded answers and/or access to the Vietnamese records related to all American aircraft downed during the war. Rob Peacock was the son of a war hero who taught him to fly. He was a Hawaiian boy turned Dartmouth man. He was a United States Marine.
Captain Peacock is remembered on Panel 01W Line 081 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Never Forget
Respectfully,–
Dave “Double D” Davies
2027 RFTW SR
Assistant Route Coordinator
