James Foley's Parents: 'He Wanted The World To Know How People Were Suffering'

The parents of slain American photojournalist James Foley went on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday, where they discussed the life their son lived before his brutal beheading earlier this week.

Diane Foley, his mother, recalled when Foley visited them shortly before his kidnapping in Syria. Foley promised them he would be home for Christmas; he was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day.

"He was home in October of 2012 for his birthday and he just looked so good and I just said, 'Jim, just can't you stay home through Christmas?' He says, 'Oh ma, I have to go back. But I will be home for Christmas,'" she said.

Both parents praised their son as genuinely loving and deeply committed to his work.

"He was just was so committed to the people whose suffering he was trying to humanize. And he wanted the world to know how people were suffering - particularly the children touched him so much," his mother said.

John Foley, the father, echoed that sentiment.

"His soul and heart grew and grew and grew and grew all those people who needed help, needed their stories told," he remembered. "He began to love all and that was his biggest gift to the people he met: his love and his help."

View the segment below.