Slator Blackiston was born on January 25, 1946, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on February 1, 1967, and completed basic training at NTC Great Lakes, Illinois, in April 1967. Petty Officer Blackiston next attended Underwater Demolition Team Replacement Training with Class 040 (East Coast) at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek Virginia, from April to August 1967, followed by service with Underwater Demolition Team 21 (UDT-21) at NAB Little Creek from August 1967 to July 1968. He then served as a SEAL Operator with SEAL Team TWO at NAB Little Creek from July 1968 to June 1975, having been appointed a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1975. During this time he served in combat deployed to South Vietnam with SEAL Team TWO from December 1968 to June 1969, and from April to October 1970. He was instrumental in a mission that successfully rescued 28 South Vietnamese Prisoners of War being held by the Viet Cong on August 22, 1970, for which he was nominated for the Silver Star (he received his 3rd of 4 Bronze Star Medals for Valor instead). He served as Assistant Platoon Commander and Training Officer with UDT-21 at NAB Little Creek from June 1975 to June 1978, and during this time he completed his bachelor's degree from Virginia Wesleyan College and was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on July 7, 1976. LT Blackiston served as Platoon Commander with SEAL Team TWO at NAB Little Creek from June 1978 to June 1980, and then attended Naval Postgraduate School from June 1980 to December 1981. His next assignment was as Assistant Operations Officer for Plans with Naval Special Warfare Group TWO at NAB Little Creek from December 1981 to August 1982, and during this time he also served as a Special Warfare Military Advisor to El Salvador from January to June 1982. LT Blackiston served as an Exchange Officer with the French Navy in Toulon, France, from August 1982 until he was killed in a parachute training accident in San Rafael, France, on April 12, 1984.

His Third Bronze Star Medal for Valor reads:

For heroic achievement in connection with operations against the enemy while serving in the Republic of Vietnam on 22 August 1970. With Petty Officer BLACKISTON serving as a squad radioman, a combined operation was executed with the mission of liberating the captives of a Viet Cong prisoner-of-war camp. Inserted by helicopter on an ominous beachhead of the South China Sea, the SEALs and Regional Force troops made immediate contact with the Viet Cong hidden in a nearby bunker. Petty Officer BLACKISON, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, took the area under fire and provided cover for members of the patrol who were maneuvering toward the enemy emplacement. Repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire, he succeeded in silencing the Viet Cong fire. Knowing the camp to be further inland and in order to interdict the escape and evasion of prisoners and guards, rocket and mini-gun fire from helicopter gunships was directed around the compound location. Patrolling west, the combined unit entered the heavily camouflaged prison compound and noted footprints leading through the dense jungle. Continuing at a swift pace through the swampy terrain, the patrol began noting bundles of clothing and equipment strewn along the trail indicating the prisoners and guard were only minutes ahead. Intensified rocket fire was then called for knowing the guards would abandon their prisoners if enough pressure was applied. After lifting the fire, the patrol continued only a short distance when contact was made with twenty-eight prisoners whose guards had just fled the area. Petty Officer BLACKISTON was then assigned the task of securing a small pick-up zone which had to be chopped out of the dense jungle foliage. Once secured, he helped to coordinate the complete extraction of all liberated prisoners and the members of his patrol. Petty Officer BLACKISON's devotion to duty, courage under fire, exemplary professionalism and outstanding performance were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Petty Officer BLACKISTON is authorized to wear the Combat "V".