Born and raised in Lansing, Matthew J. VanAcker is the director and curator of Save the Flags, a project to research, display and conserve 240 battle flags carried by Michigan soldiers in the Civil...ver maisBorn and raised in Lansing, Matthew J. VanAcker is the director and curator of Save the Flags, a project to research, display and conserve 240 battle flags carried by Michigan soldiers in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I. He also serves as the director of the Michigan State Capitol Tour and Education Service and as vice-president of the Michigan Civil War Association. He has spoken and written extensively about the Michigan State Capitol and the Capitol Battle Flag collection. He resides in West Lansing with his wife, Mary Kathleen, in an 1885 farmhouse where they raised their four children.ver menos