Lance Corporal Michael James Pastva entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Ohio and was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. On December 6, 1967, he manned a listening post with two other individuals near the Demarcation Zone in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. While manning his post, he was killed by a bomb that exploded in the vicinity of (GC) YD 153 728. A thorough search of the bomb crater resulted only in the recovery his identification tags, a portion of his wallet, an immunization certificate, and identification card remnants. His remains were not recovered. Today, Lance Corporal Pastva is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

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