Chapter NineELEMENTS OF THE 5th Marines had secured the final sector running the length of the Citadel’s southeast wall. Only the Imperial Palace and inner gardens in the Citadel’s core, and 200 meters of open ground between the Marines and the palace wall remained under Communist control.
Everyone knew the Imperial Palace was the final objective in the mopping-up stage, but nobody knew what to make of it. There were reports that the last surviving elements of six NVA battalions, despite orders to fight and die in place, made their escape to the west. For two days there had been rumors about a crack company of Black Panther ARVN being rushed into position to make the final assault on the Imperial Palace.
Despite the rumors, nobody from Delta had seen the Black Panthers. The Marines of De
