Urbane F. Bass

Urbane Francis Bass was an African-American doctor and first lieutenant in the United States Army who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the first World War.

Early life
Bass was born on April 4, 1880, in Richmond, Virginia to Rosa and Richard J. Bass. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1902 and the Leonard Medical School of Shaw University in 1906. After leaving Leonard, Bass began a medical practice in Richmond but by 1909 had moved to Fredricksburg where he opened a larger practice and pharmacy on Amelia Street.

Military career
In 1916, Bass wrote to Secretary of War Newton Baker, offering his services as a doctor for the armed forces. Bass received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps and reported for duty at Fort Des Moines on August 14, 1917. After receiving basic medical officer training, he was transferred to Camp Funston, near Manhattan, Kansas, on November 3, 1917. On March 30, 1918, Bass departed from Newport News, Virginia for France aboard the USS Susquehanna, with the 372nd Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division.

Death and legacy
On October 6, 1918, Bass was fatally injured by German artillery fire while working at a forward aid station near Monthois, France. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on July 9, 1918, for administering "first aid in the open under prolonged and intense shell fire until he was severely wounded and carried from the field."

Bass' body was returned home and reburied in Fredricksburg National Cemetery on July 23, 1921, making him the first African-American officer to be interred there. The Shiloh Baptist Church in Fredricksburg installed a large stained glass window incorporating Bass' image in honor of his heroism. In 1991, the Rebel Bowl Building in Fredricksburg was renamed the Bass-Ellison Social Services Building, in honor of Bass and his fellow Fredricksburg citizen Dr. Richard C. Ellison.