In October 1998, Bren, who served three years as a Marine officer in the late 1950s, and invited guests looked out to sea from the Pelican Hill Golf Course clubhouse, where Bren was being honored by the Marine Corps. A Navy ship, returning to San Diego after maneuvers, flashed a dash-and-light signal, congratulating him on the special night.

What is learned from war can be applied in peacetime. Gen. Carl Mundy, chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation, wrote in his book, "The Marine Corps Experience": "The aura (of a Marine) is of one who is different and of whom more is expected."

Brig. Gen. Francis E. Quinlan, USMC reserve (ret.), helped arrange the evening to present the Semper Fidelis Award to Bren for his support of the Marine Corps University Foundation. The nonprofit helps the campuses that comprise the university, such as Officer Candidates School and Command and Control Systems School. It is the foundation's highest award, with past recipients including the senior President George Bush, Gov. Wilson, Sen. John Glenn and the late Orange County Supervisor Thomas Riley. The Traditional Mess Night, as it is called, was attended by Gen. Charles C. Krulak, commandant of the Marine Corps, and then-Gov. Wilson.

Quinlan, an attorney with Kester & Quinlan in Corona del Mar, sees the Marine ethic in the businessman Bren.

What makes a Marine, he says, "is essentially getting through the first test, which is boot camp or Officer Candidates School. There is no certainty in finishing; the dropout rate and rejection rate are very high. Just to finish and be commissioned a second lieutenant is a huge achievement for a young person, because it's a difficult process. At the ripe old age of 22, you realize you are one of the very few who have ever done this in history. And all of a sudden, you are no longer a callow kid thinking of yourself first. It's your duty to seek to their needs, their care, to mentor them, to discipline them. It's almost an overnight shift in adult responsibility. And it is one that you are trained to take seriously."

Quinlan refers to an officer's ability to care for the "critical details."

He says that when a Marine goes into business, the ethic is deeply, permanently ingrained. You are not the same person, because you cannot be.

"You hold others to a high standard, but more than that, you hold yourself to a high standard."

From The Marine Officer's Guide, which Bren would have memorized, is a bit on the attributes of a leader: "…Some (leadership) qualities are industry, energy, initiative, determination, enthusiasm, firmness, kindness, justness, self-control, unselfishness, honor, and courage."