Known as Bud to his family, Schopp got his first taste of service when he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1935. Alongside two other young men from Plymouth, he enlisted in the Coast Artillery in January 1941. The three men were stationed on Corregidor Island in the Philippines when it was captured and overtaken by Japanese forces in May 1942. Pvt. Schopp was reported captured, and was forcibly sent to the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, which, at its peak, served as a holding pen for upwards of 8,000 American and Filipino service members.
