GUEST: Chief Experience Officer of the USS Hornet Museum Russ Moore

At the Army enlistment center in New York City, Steve Rogers, slight and determined, faces the physician examiner. “Is there anything you can do?” Steve asks, his voice earnest.

“I’m doing it,” the examiner replies, stamping Steve’s file with a large “4F.” “I’m saving your life.”

Later, in a dimly lit movie theater, Steve watches a newsreel, its patriotic fervor filling the screen. The narrator’s voice booms, “War continues to ravage Europe. But help is on the way. Every able-bodied young man is lining up to serve his country. Even little Timmy is doing his part collecting scrap metal. Nice work, Timmy!”

A man in the audience, loud and brash, interrupts. “Who cares? Play the movie already!”

Steve leans forward, his jaw tight. “Hey, you wanna show some respect?”

The narrator continues, “Meanwhile, overseas, our brave boys are showing the Axis powers that the price of freedom is never too high.”

“Let’s go! Get on with it!” the man shouts. “Hey, just start the cartoon!”

Steve turns, his voice sharp. “Hey, you wanna shut up?”

The man stands, towering over Steve’s small frame. The narrator drones on, “Together with Allied forces, we’ll face any threat, no matter the size.”

In an alleyway outside the theater, the man from the audience looms over Steve, landing a hard punch that sends him stumbling.