Dr. Robert Palmer flew 175 missions as a bomber pilot during World War II.

“I only got shot down once,” said Palmer, who was a major in the Army Air Corps.

Palmer, 88, is a founding member of the World War II Roundtable of Indianapolis. The group of veterans meets monthly to share their stories and preserve history.

“We are a World War II organization that formed to keep alive the accurate history of the war,” Palmer said. “I just loved what I did.”

For years Palmer didn’t talk about the gruesome scenes he encountered, and he still doesn’t watch movies such as “Saving Private Ryan,” but now sharing his story is important.

“We saved this country,” Palmer said. “When the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor, everybody was scared. Nobody remembers that now.”

The roundtable group has about 90 members, and the majority served in the war. Others served in later wars and some are just history buffs.

Each month features a speaker, usually on the topic of World War II, said Chris Hemphill, roundtable member and spokesman. In October, Holocaust survivor Michael Blain shared his story.

There are also stories of irony. Sam Cohen, 92, remembers fighting in the Pacific, despising the Japanese, and now he has a Japanese grandson.

“We try to stick to World War II speakers,” Hemphill said. “We figure we have 10 years at best and then we will not have any World War II veterans.”

Hemphill is one of the youngest members of the group and was invited to be part of the group by a World War II veteran.

The group started with five people meeting at a Denny’s restaurant in 1987, said founding member William Ervin. Now they gather at the Northside Knights of Columbus hall.

Ervin, 70, didn’t serve in a war, but he participated in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, loves history and remembers growing up during World War II and is a Roundtable founding member.

“We rationed gas, not because we were short of gas, but because we were short of rubber and the Japanese had all the rubber trees,” Ervin said.

The group used to have a record keeper, who has since died, but many of the veterans have shared their stories, Ervin said.

Some worked with Park Tudor students as part of the school’s Legacy Initiative. Kathryn Lerch’s students have created four “Words of War” books that tell veterans’ stories, and the latest edition focuses on World War II. They have also recorded their stories with Veterans History Project in partnership with the Library of Congress.