Private De Politi was a member of Company C, 430th Engineer Construction Battalion, U.S. Army. On 1 December 1952, he was riding in a truck on Route 29, 10 miles south of Chunchon, Korea, when the truck overturned killing him.

De Politi was awarded 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.