THE FOLLOWING IS A FICTIONAL STORY. IT NEVER HAPPENED...SPANDAU GUARD is set in December 1979 at the notorious Spandau Prison in West Berlin, Germany. U.S. Army Infantryman Alfredo Ledesma along with his fellow soldiers, struggle through the 31-day rotation of boredom, cold Berlin nights, and the holiday season they can only see and enjoy from afar. As the month of Spandau Guard duty progresses, some strange things start to happen until they come to a head on Christmas Eve. A very interesting changeover with the Soviets, on December 1st, sets the basis for a story that reaches back to the very early days of the Third Reich. Spandau Prison is home to the last of the Spandau 7; the seven convicted World War II war criminals (Konstantin von Neurath, Erich Raeder, Karl Dönitz, Walther Funk, Albert Speer, Baldur von Schirach, and Rudolf Hess) that were sentenced to spend between 10 years to life at the prison. December, along with April and August, are also the months the United States Army in Berlin is in charge of guarding the prison.