WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Erwin H. Schopp, 30, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 24, 2025.
In late 1941, Schopp was a member of Headquarters Battery, 59th Coastal Artillery Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Schopp was among those reported captured when U.S. forces on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese. He was subsequently held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Schopp died on Jan. 1, 1943, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 822.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Schopp's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at or on social media at , , , or .