That was one of the most horrifying, painful, beautiful parts of the movie.  So many of them weren’t prepared, so many were administrators who had no clue that the STRIKE teams had turned, let alone that a killing machine like the Winter Soldier was on the loose.  

So many of them died.

And yet none of them hesitated.  Despite the propaganda Pierce had unleashed, despite their orders, despite everything, they still responded.  Their sacrifice, their heroism - they gave the last full measure of devotion, and I can’t imagine that Steve wouldn’t attend the memorial service, even if he had to use a wheelchair or a cane because his own wounds hadn’t finished healing.

“Captain’s orders” indeed.

without these people, there IS no Captain America.

This part of the movie killed me— ordinary, decent people standing up (and in many cases, dying) on nobody else’s word than the Captain’s. They didn’t know how many were Hydra, they maybe didn’t even really know what Hydra was (aside from some dimly recalled story from their grandparents) but stand up, they did. And without them, without the few seconds of delay, the helicarriers would have launched on schedule. 

That’s Steve’s power - inspiring people to try and be what they can be.