<P> Tension is added when Yorke 's son ( whom he has n't seen in fifteen years ) , Trooper Jefferson Yorke ( Claude Jarman Jr . ) , is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment . He had flunked out of West Point but immediately enlisted as a private in the Army . In a private `` father - son '' meeting in the commanding officer 's tent , Trooper Yorke informs his father that he does not expect , nor want , any special treatment because he is his son . He asks that he be treated like any other soldier -- to which the colonel somewhat reluctantly agrees . By his willingness to undergo any test and trial , Jeff is befriended by a pair of older recruits , Travis Tyree ( Ben Johnson ) ( who is on the run from the law ) and Daniel `` Sandy '' Boone ( Harry Carey , Jr . ) , who take him under their wings . </P>
<P> Tension is added when Yorke 's son ( whom he has n't seen in fifteen years ) , Trooper Jefferson Yorke ( Claude Jarman Jr . ) , is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment . He had flunked out of West Point but immediately enlisted as a private in the Army . In a private `` father - son '' meeting in the commanding officer 's tent , Trooper Yorke informs his father that he does not expect , nor want , any special treatment because he is his son . He asks that he be treated like any other soldier -- to which the colonel somewhat reluctantly agrees . By his willingness to undergo any test and trial , Jeff is befriended by a pair of older recruits , Travis Tyree ( Ben Johnson ) ( who is on the run from the law ) and Daniel `` Sandy '' Boone ( Harry Carey , Jr . ) , who take him under their wings . </P>
who played john wayne 's son in rio grande
who played john wayne 's son in rio grande
Claude Jarman Jr .
Claude Jarman Jr .