Both divisions endured great hardship, and nearly 24,000 US military died, since no supplies were able to reach the "Battered Bastards of Bastogne" until the weather improved at the end of January 1945.
During the air war in Kosovo, Dedijer lived in Dubrovnik and befriended Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Hampton, US Army who had spent nearly 45 months in the Balkans.
[citation needed] LTC Hampton was in Dubrovnik as part of an advance party which would deploy into Kosovo for post war operations.
[citation needed] During those months, Dedijer would meet LTC Hampton and review not only his years with the 101st ABN Division, but the historical, political and social ramifications of the war in the Balkans.
[citation needed] LTC Hampton and Cathrine Andersen, a Norwegian OSCE human rights representative, hosted Dedijer's 88th birthday at the Marco Polo Restaurant in Old Town Dubrovnik.