Quote 1
"Just as we were starting, my husband was called up on the telephone, a very sad case. A young man (that is what Sir William is telling Mr Dalloway) had killed himself. He had been in the army." (6.83)
Lady Bradshaw mentions Septimus’ death at Clarissa’s party, an act that outrages Clarissa. He should almost be considered a war fatality, since his suicide is a direct result of combat trauma.
Quote 2
And Millicent Bruton was very proud of her family. But they could wait, they could wait, she said, looking at the picture; meaning that her family, of military men, administrators, admirals, had been men of action, who had done their duty […]. (4.185)
Lady Bruton rides on the reputation of her family. She identifies with the great men of her family's past much more than with the sick wives of men she knows.