Jim Debow, 59, of Fairfax, collects vintage military tools, including a combat radio used by an elite team of U.S. Marines called the Navajo Code Talkers. The linguistic complexities of this Native American language enabled these World War II heroes to transmit secret tactical messages the best enemy ear could not decode. Debow served during the Cold War in the U.S. Navy between 1979 and 1989 aboard a submarine that patrolled the western Pacific Ocean. “It’s because of us the Soviet Union behaved,” he said.