Corporal Morelli was a member of Battery B, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Hoengsong, South Korea, on 13 February 1951 and died while a prisoner on 30 April 1951. His remains were recovered on 29 May 1990 and identified on 13 October 2011. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Morelli was awarded the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, 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.