5 dull red lights in V formation cruising over the coast of Long Beach

I have been thinking about this for years and, due to some recent TV shows, I have decided I should report what I saw.
The event occurred in either 1980 or 1981.  It has been so long ago I don't really remember.  I do know where I was living at that particular time so that is how I got the year.  I was also in the presence of a friend when the event occurred.
It was sometime around the winter of 1980/81.  I was living in Belmont Shores California.  The evening was cold and very clear with an unusual amount of starts out.  A friend of mine and I decided to walk a couple of blocks down to the beach to look at the stars.  I'm not sure how long we were there when we saw the object.
I first notice the lights in the South West.  The beach we were at faces South.  The object was actually 5 lights; I think.  They were in the formation of a gigantic "V".  
My friend and I watched until we lost it in the bright lights of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.   We did not observe any type of body associated with the lights. 
As we were watching we were screaming out for others to see but no one was around.  It must have been 10-15 seconds we watched.  I distinctly remember saying it wasn't making any noise because we could see commercial airplanes high up and hear their engines.  The lights were moving much faster than the aircraft but no noise and it seemed it was just lights.  
What was really weird at the time is that the lights did not shine.  I never knew how to explain it but now I think they might have been like a LED light similar to the red ones indicating an electrical device is on.
The only reason I am writing now is because I have recently seen a couple of UFO shows where people have seen the same thing we did.  The only difference is that we could not make out any shape or object and could only see the 5 lights.
Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate.  PD