Captain America thinks back to his partnership with Bucky Barnes during World War 2, watching his partner go into a ballet of action in a fight with Nazi soldiers. While following up a lead to Nazi activity at an English air base in 1945, he recalls how they met: back at Camp Lehigh, Private Steve Rogers was accused of drawing special treatment because he was informing on his fellow GIs. While Steve could have mopped the floor with the two bullies, he had to keep a low profile. He spied camp mascot Bucky being pushed around by a thuggish soldier named McGurk. Suddenly, Bucky stepped into Steve’s fray and claimed he has first crack at Rogers for welching on him—and telling the guys that McGurk is the real informer. As the bullies took off after their new victim, Bucky revealed his motive: he wanted to sell Steve art supplies!
Cap and Bucky approach the hanger containing the drone plane they believe is the Nazis’ target and encounter Baron Zemo! The villain releases a protoplasm created by Arnim Zola and it rapidly expands into a huge hulking humanoid. Bucky leads Cap in an assault on the beast….
At camp Bucky was afraid of no one, not even the perpetually angry Sergeant Duffy. He also managed to find a way to tag along on maneuvers even when expressly forbidden. And then there was the time he was asked to leave a bar for being underage and started a riot. Steve rescued him from the melee and smuggled him back on base. It was a few nights after that that Bucky walked in on a careless Steve and discovered he was Captain America: the price of his silence was to be made Cap’s partner….
While Cap battles the humanoid, Bucky takes on Zemo…and when Cap handily disarms the Nazi villain, they team up to take down the android….
On their first official mission, Cap and Bucky were waiting as Nazi saboteurs landed on the Virginia shore plotting to destroy a nearby military base. After dispatching the baddies, Bucky loaded the explosives back on the raft, set the fuse and sent it back toward the enemy U-boat. Since he wasn’t about to risk his life for nothing, Bucky decided to take a souvenir: he snatched a medal from a prisoner’s uniform. Over the years his footlocker full of souvenirs grew….
At the airbase, the battle with the android is going poorly until Bucky sprays oil on the floor and Cap ignites it with a spark from his thrown shield, immolating the monster….
The only time Cap ever saw Bucky afraid was during his first parachute jump: he revealed that he was afraid of heights since the day his father died. Barnes was killed when his parachute failed to open and Bucky saw it happen. Cap reminded Bucky he had his best friend by his side and they jumped into enemy territory. Disguising themselves as German soldiers they infiltrated a castle to rescue an imprisoned scientist. The two heroes were captured as it turned out they had given the name of a defunct division as their unit. Locked in the cell with the scientist, Cap tricked the guards into opening the door; he and Bucky overpowered the guards and took their uniforms and made their getaway, delivering the scientist to Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos.
As the android burns, Cap and Bucky are overcome by Zemo….
Steve then recalls a time when Bucky was hospitalized; he arrived for a visit and found his partner surrounded by a bevy of beautiful nurses. After they are chased out by their superior, Bucky explains that he is looking forward to the end of the War when he can finally live the good life. When Steve mentions he is not retiring as Captain America, Bucky quickly does an about-face, re-enlisting as his partner. "I just wanna go out of this world different than I came into it, y’know?"
Cap and Bucky awaken to find themselves tied to the drone plane, ready to be flown to Berlin. They manage to break free and attack Zemo but the villains launches the plane. Realizing they must keep the advanced weapon out of enemy hands, the heroes pursue by motorcycle. They jump aboard, hoping to defuse the booby trap and bring the pane down. Only Bucky gets a grip on the craft as Steve tells him to drop into the water, reminding him there are no medals to be awarded this time. Bucky replies "So? I love my country. Didn’t I teach you anything?"
Years later Steve answers "More than you will ever know, my friend."