Sergeant First Class Parenti was a member of the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 10 July 1950. He was reportedly murdered in a tunnel near Sunch'on, North Korea on 20 October 1950.

Parenti was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.