Thanks Charlie for sharing Dick Schaffert's letter and also to Jim(?) for quick and appropriate action.
In late '66 I was a newbie civilian tech rep for catapults and arresting gear for the Naval Air Engineering Center stationed at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco.
The Oriskany returned to the shipyard for repairs after the horrible fire that took so many lives, most of them pilots whose staterooms were in the forward part of the ship where the fire was concentrated. Extinguishing the fire was made very difficult due to the phosphorus flares and exacerabated when the helo caught fire with its many magnesium components. I seem to recall many of those who perished were unable to find their way to safety due to darkness and smoke within the maze of compartments and passageways typical of a WWII '27 Charlie' aircraft carrier. A fairly simple but significant safety improvement that was implemented after the fire was to locate the EXIT signs and arrows about a foot off the deck rather than at eye level, recognizing that during a fire and/or electrical failure, people are crawling on the deck not walking upright.
I knew several men from the cat crew who acted heroically that day and were recognized for their actions. Damage to the cats was significant but insignificant in comparison to the loss of Norm Levy and his shipmates.